Losers Stick Together
by Hermione Romanoff
Summary: "Losers... gotta stick together, right?" 27 years have passed since the events that traumatized the Losers Club in Derry, Maine. But they have all forgotten about the horrors ever since, including Stephanie Palmer. Mike Hanlon calls the others back home. When the Losers return to Derry, they must conquer their fears to destroy Pennywise once and for all. (Bill/OC Continued)
1. The Phone Call

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC!**

**A/N: THE SEQUEL IS FINALLY BEGINNING! WOO-HOO! I hope you guys are excited, since I've put you through torture by having you wait three months for it to begin! *uses sarcasm* I'm such a good person! :D**

**ANYWAYS, I'm so happy to be finally starting this story, and I hope you enjoy reading this long anticipated sequel!**

**Just to remind you guys, Emily Blunt is the face claim for Steph in this story. It's quite ironic that she and James McAvoy were actually in films together in the past, which is awesome!**

**Now, to tell you my schedule for this story. Since (during the writing process) I'm only on the third chapter, I will be posting a chapter every Saturday, or every other day. It depends on if I have anything to upload, but it will mostly be every Saturday. Sounds good? Okay then!**

**Also, Happy 17th Birthday to Jaeden Wesley Martell (who plays Bill Denbrough in IT 2017)! I felt that this was a great day to begin this story in honor of his birthday!**

**Now, ENOUGH RAMBLING! Without further ado, here is the first chapter of Losers Stick Together!**

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**_Chapter One_**

_May 29th, 2016_

_New York City_

As the director yelled, "CUT!" the second the scene was done wrapping up, the two women involved with the film in question immediately broke character and started complimenting each other. They were obviously very close friends and had worked on a few films together.

"You were so good," the woman with brown hair said in an excited voice. "That emotion was on point for the scene! _Loved_ the horror on your face!"

"Thanks!" replied the blonde woman that was smiling at the compliment. "I try my best." This made the former turn to her with a look of slight shock. "I mean it!" she exclaimed. "You literally looked like you were very scared. How do you do it?"

The other woman shrugged as they began walking towards the door that went outside of the studio. "I guess watching horror movies my entire life helped with it," she said vaguely. They both laughed at this response as the brown-haired woman said, "Well, you did an amazing job, Steph."

She smiled. "Thanks, Audra!"

Audra hugged Steph as they got ever closer to the door. They were talking and laughing about whatever when a man around their age came jogging over to them. The second he spotted Steph, he hugged her tightly with a big smile on his face.

"You were fantastic!" he exclaimed. The woman in his arms laughed as she hugged back with enthusiasm. "Thanks, honey," she replied in a happy but somewhat overwhelmed voice.

"I'm telling you, Bill!" Audra said. "She's gonna be the next Jamie Lee Curtis!" This compliment made Steph pull away from her husband's hug and give her best friend a confused look.

"Okay, I think that's a _bit_ of a stretch, but whatever," she remarked in a slightly snarky voice. In response, Bill took her hand and twirled her around to where she was back in his arms. "Well, _you_ seem happy today," she added to him with a grin on her face. Bill chuckled at this statement.

"Well, can I not be proud of my wife?" he asked her in a mock hurt voice. Steph smacked his arm. "Of course you can," she said sheepishly. She then gave him a quick kiss as they exited the studio.

Hand in hand, the couple walked towards the camper they shared together. All the while, Steph was being showered with compliments from the people she was working on the movie with. She felt shy all of a sudden as she thanked them over and over again. The look she gave Bill told him that she was silently asking him to save her from this. He nodded as he let go of her hand and put his arm around her shoulders.

The two were quick to get inside the camper before Steph got too embarrassed. That always tended to happen with her, which often made Bill ask her why she wanted to be famous in the first place. At first, it was a genuine question, but now, it was a running joke between the two. They both constantly found it funny and it had somehow never gotten old for them.

The second they closed the door, Steph put a hand to her forehead as they began to laugh. "Holy heck, was _that_ embarrassing," she said in an exasperated tone. Bill smiled as he hugged her. "It's your fifteen minutes of fame, Mrs. Denbrough," he replied in a loving voice. "Enjoy it while you can." He kissed her on the forehead, and although her face flushed a slight crimson, she gave him a smirk. "You're hilarious," she stated sarcastically.

"I know I am," he replied with a mock smug look. Steph smacked his arm again as they both laughed. "Seriously, though," she added, "where were you while I was filming?" Bill shrugged in response. "I was just talking with one of the producers. Nothing really important," he said simply. She nodded as she followed him to where he was sitting down. A laptop was laying on the small table on the side of the trailer, and it was open, which meant one thing.

"How's the writing coming along?" she asked as she sat down next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Not too bad," he replied. "I'm still struggling with this ending, though. I don't think it's good enough. I'm trying to figure out how the twist should go, and…" Bill sighed heavily. "I don't freaking know…"

Steph giggled as she ran a hand through his hair. She smiled when he closed his eyes at the contact. "Hey, let me have a read and maybe I can help," she suggested. She was quite amused when her husband gave her a skeptical look, his eyebrows raised.

"I never took you for a writer," he teased. Steph laughed at this remark as she shook her head. "I'm definitely not as good as you…" she stated. "But I do have some experience with writing. You know you want to let me."

Bill laughed at the tone of her angelic voice as he nodded. "All right, all right," he relented. "Go ahead, give it a try." Steph clapped to herself like a child, which made them both chuckle out of humor as Bill gently pushed the laptop to where it sat in front of her. She thought about the plot of the movie, and knew that she had to write a revelation that was shocking to both her and Bill, as well as the eventual audience.

A sudden lightbulb going off in her mind, she began rapidly typing away as Bill watched in astonishment, secretly admiring her beauty.

The couple had gotten married when Steph was 19 and Bill was 20. It had happened shortly after college and they knew that they didn't want to wait any longer before making it official. Bill's parents showed up, but didn't stay for long, only merely congratulating them. Steph's mother, Jamie, wasn't a guest, since she had sadly succumbed to tuberculosis when the now 39-year-old woman was 15.

Although she didn't remember exactly how her mother had died, the death was completely traumatizing for Steph. But Bill was there for her during the years after the tragedy. And the woman couldn't be any happier now that she had mostly gotten over the death. But every now and then, she would still have nightmares about what had happened; she never mentioned this to Bill despite this. She just kept a smile on her face, like right now, except this one was genuine.

In fact, seeing his wife happy made Bill want to distract her by kissing her. But he knew that being interrupted was one of her pet peeves, so he reluctantly fought the urge. But he didn't hold himself back from toying with a few strands of her now waist-length blonde hair. To his relief, she didn't seem to mind this. He felt a bit entranced by how concentrated she looked.

Her blonde hair was no longer frizzy and messy like it was during their teenage years. It was now wavy and more beautiful due to the amount of time that had passed since they were kids. Her midnight blue eyes had grown more vivid in their color, almost as if it were the only color in them. Her skin was a little paler than it had once been, but Bill could honestly care less about that.

To him, she had grown even more beautiful over the twenty-seven years that they had been together. She looked even more like an angel, which absolutely marvelled him, but in the best way possible.

But also, because of how strong she was emotionally and mentally, Steph was always able to do anything good for her friends and even people that she didn't know. These acts of kindness always warmed Bill's heart and increased his love for her even more; despite this, he felt as if he didn't love her enough. He had even admitted this to his wife, to which she responded by saying that she herself felt as if she loved him more than he did with her. They had a playful argument about this afterwards.

"And… done!" Steph announced as she finished typing. "Have a look." She pushed the laptop back to Bill, and he took it gingerly as he read over what she had written. His eyes widened at certain parts, and he couldn't believe what he was reading. He had never thought that his wife could write like _this_, let alone helping him with writers' block. He turned to Steph with a big grin on his face.

"I mean… I hope you like it…" she said in a rather small voice that she rarely used. "I've never really written a screenplay before… It can't be as good as your idea, I'm sure…"

Steph was interrupted when Bill threw his arms around her in gratitude. "I love this!" he exclaimed. "You're a genius! How in the heck did I not come up with this idea?" The woman had a look of shock on her face as her husband pulled away from the hug. "You really like the idea?" she asked gently.

"Are you kidding? I love it!" he said in a happy and proud voice. "I'm gonna go show the idea to the director… No, I won't tell him it was your idea, I know you wouldn't want that," he added, a little amused at the look on Steph's face. It was at that moment that he couldn't fight the urge, and he finally planted his lips on hers.

The middle-aged woman jumped slightly but put her left hand on his cheek despite her surprise. This was a slightly more passionate kiss than they had had recently, and it was perfect. This was a kiss of happiness and love.

But, unfortunately, the moment didn't last very long as they pulled away after a few seconds. They shared a look of pure love, a look that could hold an entire conversation where nothing had to be said. They knew what they both wanted, but of course now wasn't the time. Steph was okay with that as she gave Bill another peck and patted him on the shoulder.

"Okay, Mr. Denbrough!" she said in a rather chipper voice. "Time to go show the idea to the director!" Bill grinned at her as he got up from the couch.

"You got it, Mrs. Denbrough," he declared with a small laugh, heading over to the camper door. Steph got up and followed him, longing to have more time alone with him. But she knew that he had a job to do, so she let him go.

Bill surprised her by turning back to her, his hand on the door handle. He leaned over and gave her another loving kiss. "I love you," he whispered. Steph smiled at him, still not used to the words.

"Love you, too," she whispered back. "Now go! Go show him!" She lightly shoved him as he opened the door.

"Okay, okay, I'm going!" Bill playfully yelled. "Don't try to kill me!" He walked down the slightly wobbly steps until he reached the pavement.

The married couple shared one last fleeting look before Bill finally closed the door, leaving Steph alone in the camper.

She immediately went to the refrigerator and got out a can of Mountain Dew, clicking it open; she loved the hissing sound the cans always made when she opened them. She took a sip of the sweet but fizzy drink and was relieved at the cold feeling of the can on her fingers. She went to one of the small closets that was in the tiny room and pulled the door open. Steph looked through the rows of movies, trying to decide which one to watch, since she was done filming for the day.

She finally chose not to watch a horror movie, which she did every now and then. She instead picked out _The Avengers_ and carried the movie case over to the DVD player. She took the disc out and put it into the machine, then closed it. She eventually pressed 'Play,' sitting down on the couch, but not before getting a bag of Doritos.

Steph loved _Marvel_ movies, although she was embarrassed to admit it to Bill. She would mostly watch them by herself, but sometimes with her husband. Her favorite one was _Iron Man_, but she didn't want to watch it today for some reason.

She found herself enjoying the movie for the first time in quite a while. She laughed at some parts and jumped at others. Right before it got to the infamous scene where the superheroes gathered in the middle of New York, a sound interrupted the moment. A sound that would change everything.

The sound of Steph's cell phone ringing…

Steph jumped slightly at the sudden loud noise. She quickly glanced at the screen, only to squint her eyes in confusion at what the phone read.

_Unknown Number_

_Derry, Maine_

The woman quickly took the remote and paused the movie, clearly bewildered at the random number that was calling.

_Derry?_ Steph thought to herself. _Haven't I heard of that town before? Do I know someone from there?_

The phone continued to ring, and she knew that if she didn't answer the call soon, it would go to voicemail. So, she did the one thing that would change her life for the worst.

She pressed the green button, picking up the phone… She held the cell phone to her ear.

"Hello?" she spoke.

"_Stephanie Palmer?_" a man's voice said.

The woman frowned, puzzled for a long moment.

She began to think, trying to remember if she had ever heard the voice before, trying to associate the voice with a face. Was it someone she knew from college? Was it a wrong number? A long lost relative?

No, they used her maiden name, so it didn't sound like anyone she knew from recently.

But why did the voice sound vaguely familiar?

The voice sounded somewhat deep, so it was definitely a man around Steph's age. But it also sounded young. The only thought running through the middle-aged woman's mind was this:

_Why did this man use my maiden name?_

"I'm sorry, I'm sure you have the wrong Stephanie," she lied in a slightly uneasy voice. A small moment of silence followed this statement.

"_My apologies, ma'am,_" the man replied. "_If I may, though, can I ask what your last name is?_"

Steph took a deep breath, her heart slowly beginning to race. "Denbrough," she answered, her hand beginning to shake. "Stephanie Denbrough… Palmer was my maiden name…" She honestly didn't know why she was now telling the truth to someone she was sure she didn't know, but something in her had told her to speak the truth... She didn't know what it was, but it happened just like that.

"_Oh, then you _are _the right Stephanie I needed to contact…_" the man said simply. Steph shook her head, before realizing that whoever was on the other end of the line couldn't see her. "May I ask who's calling please?" she asked. Her voice was trembling more and more by the second.

Another small moment of silence.

"_I apologize again,_" the man said. "_I should have told you who I was earlier. Steph…_" The woman jumped at the use of her nickname. "_...my name is Michael Hanlon._"

Steph's feeling of fear was briefly replaced by confusion. "I'm sorry… Michael who?" she asked, not sure if she had heard him correctly.

"_Michael Hanlon,_" he said again. "_Oh, wait… You might remember me better as _Mike _Hanlon… from Derry…_"

Steph's heart stopped beating. Her blood ran cold. Goosebumps erupted all over her arms, making her hair stand up on the nape of her neck. Chills sped up and down the length of her spine repeatedly. A memory that had never crept into her mind all of a sudden rushed to her, and it was almost as if she were back in 1989.

_She saw Bowers and his cronies beating the life out of Mike, and he looked pretty badly hurt. She noticed for a moment that he saw something that made him scared, but she didn't have time to point out what it was before the poor outsider got kicked in the face._

_She had to do something. And do something fast. She didn't know how to intervene, though._

_She began panicking as her heart rate sped up in fear for the boy's life. And that was when she finally saw something she could use._

"_Steph? Steph, are you there?_"

The woman snapped out of her memory, flinching slightly. The teenage girl was gone, now replaced with the middle-aged woman currently on the cell phone with an old friend. Steph's heart was beating again and the room was warm once more. But the air was still thick as uneasiness flowed through her emotions, but she also felt happiness for a brief moment.

"_Mike?_" she spoke in an overly surprised voice. "Mike Hanlon? The homeschooled kid?"

"_The one and only,_" Mike replied, and Steph could hear a smile in his tone. Putting a hand over her heart, the woman sank back onto the couch as she took deep breaths. "Oh, my God," she whispered. "It's been… a long time… Jesus…"

"_23 years in fact,_" Mike stated. Steph laughed slightly as she used her free hand to rake her fingers through her ridiculously long blonde hair. "Wow," she said in a slightly louder voice. "That's crazy…"

There was a somewhat peaceful silence, but this time, much longer and more agonizing. It almost scared Steph as she took yet another shaky breath.

"How did you find this number?" she asked.

"_Phonebook,_" he replied easily. "_So, you and Bill, huh?_"

Now Steph was laughing a lot more normally. "Yep," she said though the chuckles. "Me and Bill…" She waited until the laughter subsided before speaking again. "Mike… why did you call me? Why now… _two_ decades later?"

She could hear Mike taking his own deep breath as she sat there. "_Steph, I don't know how I'm going to be able to tell you this. You're the first Loser I've called to inform you…_" He paused, and the woman could sense his hesitance almost immediately.

"Inform me of what?" she asked quietly. For some reason, she had a distant thought in the back of her mind that she knew what he was about to say. She felt as if she had been expecting this phone call for quite some time now, and she didn't know why she was just now realizing it. But she did know this: what Mike had called about meant bad news to her.

More silence. A silence that was terrifying. Then, Mike spoke the words that left a feeling of horror in her gut.

"_Steph… _It's_ back…_"

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**A/N: You know me by now... READ THIS!**

**CLIFFHANGER! Don't hate me lol I like to do this a lot!**

**I know, a pretty short opening chapter, but I'm sure you guys won't mind that.**

**Was the first half of the phone call done well? I thought it was quiet tense, and I'm proud of myself!**

**What will Steph's reaction be? Well, you'll find out in SEVEN DAYS! Ehh? EHH? Who cares lol**

**Also, just letting you know, there will be a LOT of flashbacks in this story! And this will mainly be a Steph focused story, and I think you will really like that. I'm developing her character a LOT more in this one, so strap in, folks!**

**Again, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for the positive feedback on Dealing With Being a Loser! I honestly wasn't expecting for the story to get as much love as it did, and I was pleasantly surprised. You guys were my main motivation to keep going with the story, and now we're here!**

**HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! I hope you enjoyed this first chpter, and be looking forward to the next one. Restaurant scene will happen in Chapter Three, btw, and I'm still trying to finish that scene. But anyway, have a great day, and until next time!**

**\- Hermione Romanoff**


	2. Fear Overshadowing Bravery

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC!**

**A/N: ONE WEEK LATER! Did you survive the girl form The Ring? Just kidding, you didn't even watch the cursed videotape! (Sorry, I'm a big fan of The Ring) Anyways, time for another chapter! YAY! Just saying, I will now upload twice a week since I even get impatient with waiting an entire week to update!**

**I'm sure you guys will be okay with that.**

**Update on life: Uh, nothing much happened, really. I've been working on this story. I will be taking a break from my other story, "A New Family" for a little while, only uploading a new chapter every now and then until this sequel is done. I'm also stuck on writers' block. UGH! Also, I had my first four tests of the semester and I did pretty well, but that doesn't matter lol**

_**robinmuffins: Thank you so much for your kind words! And you will see Steph's reaction here! :) And yes, Bill and Steph ARE couple goals! That sentence made my day!**_

_**SuperSentai199: I know, it's so sweet that they got married! You will see them return to Derry in the next chapter!**_

_**Guest: Thanks for your kind words!**_

_**0netflixme0: I haven't seen you review my stories before, so welcome! And you'll see what happens next below this author's note! ;)**_

_** .2019: Love seeing you review like always! And they do have a good relationship, but there will be tension between them at some points. It's obvious why.**_

_**Connie Hooper: THANK YOU SO SO MUCH! Your reviews always make my day! And I can't wait for the next chapter of your story!**_

_**Angryfanfic: Don't worry! You commented just in time lol Twice a week you will get a new chapter!**_

_**Special thanks to Choking On A Dream, 4plywhenicry, .2019, BaconBabe, robinmuffins, TabbyVoorhees, MediaMaster263, edvy8, flaymecloser, SuperSentai199, Guest, teaspotandblood, 0netflixme0, LostBoys453, Connie Hooper, BlackPhoenix00, Jessica1884, Lily Rozewood, and Angryfanfic for either leaving a review or favoriting/following the last chapter!**_

**Anyways, ENOUGH TALKING! Without further ado, here is the second, long awaited chapter!**

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**_Chapter Two_**

Mike's words sank in, and the moment Steph remembered what he was talking about, she nearly dropped the cell phone. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't speak… Her eyes were wider than they had ever been, and she thought she was about to die right there. She tried to stand up but she ended up falling to her knees on the floor. She started gasping for air just as Mike spoke again.

"_Steph, are you okay?_"

"You've got to be _freaking_ kidding," she choked out through her gasps. And another memory pierced her mind.

_"__Swear," he began with a confident voice. "S-Swear… if It isn't dead… if It ever comes back… we'll come back too."_

_Steph's heart plummeted to the never ending pit of her stomach at just the idea of returning to Derry when It came back. One thing was for sure; It _was _going to come back. They all knew it themselves. They couldn't deny it. Heck, not even Steph could brush it off; she wasn't that stupid._

_But she would be ready when that did end up happening. So, without hesitation, the youngest member of the Losers' Club was the first to stand up, her words not even needing to be said. Steph gave Bill a knowing look and nodded, her promise confirmed. Because, in her right mind, she would stick alongside Bill._

_Until the very end._

"Are you serious, Mike?" she asked more calmly, but that horror never left her body.

"_Yes._"

Steph sighed, and put her phone on speaker. She set it on the floor beside her, running her hands through her hair in shock. "Oh, God…" she whispered harshly to herself.

How could she have forgotten? She forgot everything that had happened in Derry… She had a good memory, so how did she forget?

_Why_ did she forget?

"_Will you come to Derry, Steph?_" Mike asked. "_You promised. You promised you would come back… You and Bill need to come home._"

"Yes…" Steph whispered, pulling her left hand away from her head and saw it. Everything clicked.

A slim, silver scar rested on the palm of her hand. And for a moment, she could have sworn that she felt a stinging pain ignite there. She squeezed her eyes shut, but it went away just as quickly as it happened. She stared at the scar.

The exact scar her own husband had given her 27 years ago…

"Yeah… I remember…" she said a little louder.

"_I hope you come back,_" Mike said again. "_Tomorrow._"

"Yeah… yeah, I will," Steph confirmed. "I promise… Bye…"

She hung up the phone before Mike could say anything else. She leaned forward and laid her head on the cold and welcoming floor. Sobs immediately spilled out of her mouth, but no tears came. These were sobs of anger, not sadness. She was furious, thinking, _If It's back, then children have most likely been killed._

Steph remembered that several children had gone missing 27 years ago. She had concluded that they had also died. She couldn't quite remember all of their names, but one stood out like a sore thumb.

Bill's little brother, Georgie…

This time, tears streamed down the woman's face. She started slamming her fist against the floor repeatedly in rage. She buried her face in one of her arms and screamed, but it was muffled. Her body was shaking with each sob, all of them filled with dread.

A part of her actually did not want to go back to Derry, partly because she was afraid. But mostly because she wasn't sure if what was happening at the moment was real or not. She hated not knowing the real answer to that thought, and it made her even angrier. Suddenly, during her fit of rage, another memory rushed through her subconscious… But it was a _good_ memory… A somewhat happy memory…

_As they walked down the sidewalk, chatting away, Steph looked in front of her to see Bill walk out of a nearby alley and face them. She could see his eyes widen and it looked like his mouth was agape in shock. She looked confused for a moment, thinking that oncoming danger was right behind her. There was nothing there, but when she turned around, she could see that his eyes were still wide but he had a look of amusement on his face. It was then that she realized… _

_Bill was staring at her._

_Steph blushed furiously but smiled as she approached him._

She was, in fact, blushing right now as she finally calmed down. Just the thought of the teenage boy who was now her husband was able to keep her sane in that moment. She didn't smile, but her haggard breathing started to slow and become more normal. She didn't move from where she was on the floor despite this.

Who else was she with that day? She knew that she was talking with someone when she was walking down the sidewalk. But who was it? Was it someone she used to be friends with? She had no idea.

God, she wished she could remember a lot faster than she really was. She wanted to smack herself in the face, but knew that it would be a stupid move. Why couldn't more memories appear in her mind? Why were they repressed?

All of a sudden, Steph felt a sharp pain in her stomach. She gasped harshly, lifting up the shirt she was wearing. Her eyes widened when she saw a small scar on her skin. She didn't remember exactly how she had gotten it, but she knew that it was related to whatever had happened 27 years ago.

The camper door suddenly opened, making the woman jump nearly a mile into the air. Steph snapped her head to the doorway, and she saw Bill standing mere feet away from her. She noticed that he looked rather disturbed, his eyes wide with an emotion that seemed like shock. He was staring in her direction, unmoving. And that was when she came to the realization…

"Did you get a phone call?" she asked hoarsely.

There was a long moment of silence, during which she saw Bill's cell phone gripped tightly in his right hand. She met his eyes again just in time to see him slowly nod.

"Crap…" Her limbs all of a sudden felt weak, almost like she was ready to pass out at any moment.

It was real… It was really real… _It_ had returned and children in Derry, Maine were getting killed… It was a disgusting realization…

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Steph said quickly, gagging as she rushed to the tiny bathroom in their camper. Bill rushed after her as she lifted the toilet lid and began to vomit. She felt his hand gently lift her hair up behind her and his other hand rest on her back in a comforting way. When she finally lifted her head up, her eyes were wide, tears were streaming down her cheeks, and her face was pink.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, putting a hand on her forehead and taking deep breaths. "I just can't believe it…"

"It's okay…" he said soothingly, rubbing her back. She leaned into his embrace, wrapping her arms around him.

"I was gonna tell you that Mike called… But I guess I was too late for that…" Steph chuckled humorlessly, wiping the tears off of her face. Bill didn't laugh at all, instead holding her in his arms, trying to calm her down.

"I was… really shocked to say the least," Bill said quietly. "Like, we haven't seen him or the others in over 20 years…"

Steph managed to give off a subtle smile. "You know… It's funny, really… The only people that I remember from back then are Mike and you…" she remarked, causing both she and Bill to laugh a little.

"And you remember Mike only because he was the one that called us…" he finished for her. Steph nodded, not moving from where she was.

She didn't know how it happened, but she found herself back on the couch with Bill, his arms around her in a loving manner. Turns out, he had carried her from the tiny bathroom back to where she was sitting fifteen minutes before. Steph now had Bill's laptop resting on her legs, looking up flights to Maine with the rapid speed of her fingers. They were now completely serious as they sat there together.

Never before had they been so serious about a situation in a very long time. But, to be honest, they were a little scared. No, scratch that. They were terrified.

What would Derry be like when they arrived? Would it be different? The same? Steph had no idea… Neither did Bill… And that scared them to no end.

They hoped that they would be able to destroy It when they returned to their hometown. If they could destroy It… Heck, they didn't even know how powerful It could be at this point. Nearly thirty years had passed since they had first defeated the monster. It was bound to be even stronger than ever now.

Steph also wondered what her friends from the past looked like now. Would they look completely different? Would she be able to recognize them or not? She had no idea, to be honest. She hoped that she would be able to know who they were, although she didn't know if she would.

She was honestly surprised when she was able to recognize Mike Hanlon almost the second that she had heard his name. She supposed that it was because he had been the one to inevitably call her and deliver the horrific news. Steph still felt sick as this information resonated inside of her gut. She hated knowing this, secretly not wanting to go back to Derry.

But she knew that she needed to be brave. So… she was going back, no matter what happened. And if Bill was going back, she was going with him. She would always go with him.

Until the very end.

"Are you scared?" Bill asked her, breaking the silence. Steph took a deep breath, her hands shaking slightly over the keyboard. She tried calming herself by taking his right hand and squeezing tightly, and it worked, just like always. Her heartbeat slowly went back to its normal rhythm as she nodded her head a little.

"Yeah, I am," she admitted in a low voice. "And I don't _want_ to be. I _hate_ being scared. You know?" She looked into Bill's blue eyes as he nodded his head in response.

"I know exactly what you mean," he said. "I'm a little scared myself, but it'll be okay. W-W-Wuh-We'll see…" He immediately froze at the same time Steph did. She stared at her husband with wide eyes as she took her hand out of his.

"Bill…" she whispered in a slightly shocked voice. "Your stutter…" Bill lowered his head slightly and ran one of his hands through his auburn hair.

"It's come back… just like It," he stated simply. Steph sighed and rested her forehead on her husband's shoulder. She slipped her arms around his torso, and he returned the embrace.

They didn't know how long they stayed in that embrace, but the sun was slowly setting outside of the camper. Bill got up quickly and locked the camper door, then sat back down next to his wife. He put his hands on both sides of her face and kissed her forehead.

"It's g-guh-going to be okay," he murmured soothingly, although his voice trembled a little. "I'll make sure that you-you'll be okay…"

Steph nodded her head. "Okay…" she whispered.

"I l-love you," Bill said.

"And I love you, too," Steph replied in a stronger voice.

Bill leaned in and kissed her gently. So gently in fact that it almost made Steph collapse. She put a hand on his cheek as he pulled her closer to him. He continued to kiss her as it started to get more passionate. Steph nearly lost control as he broke away and started trailing kisses down her neck.

She put both of her hands on his chest and lightly pushed him away. He looked at her with a questioning stare. Steph shook her head slightly as she looked down. "Not tonight…" she whispered. "I'm sorry…"

Bill pulled her into a gentle hug. "It's okay…" he replied, completely understanding her stress about the current situation they were both in. "We-We should get some rest, a-anyway," he added.

Steph nodded and they pulled away. She went back to the laptop and ordered their tickets for the next flight from New York to Maine. Bill absentmindedly played with her blonde hair to calm her down, and she felt a lot more sane within his presence.

They went to bed later that night, Bill holding his wife close to him as they slept. They were in for a long day tomorrow.

A day filled with horror… And they didn't know if they would make it through that horror…

* * *

Steph kept drifting in and out of consciousness as she struggled to sleep. As much as she wanted to dream good dreams, memories kept pouring into her mind, and although she couldn't remember some of them, others stuck out like sore thumbs.

But as time went on, those memories were being forgotten as well. It sort of frustrated her, but she knew that she couldn't help it. She had forgotten all about what had happened in Derry 27 years ago, so this was nothing compared to that.

She wondered to herself a lot of things. How did she forget her childhood? Did she just repress her memories or did something happen that caused her to forget? Either way, she didn't understand it at all. Bill was probably in the same situation she was in, trying to remember how he himself had forgotten. But one question stuck out in her mind…

If Steph had forgotten about her childhood, how in the heck did she and Bill manage to stay together until now?

To be honest, Bill was the only person she remembered from back in the day. But that was probably because he was her husband and she _couldn't _forget him. Not that she wanted to, but it was very uncanny to her.

Somehow, during the night, they had separated from each other's arms. Steph glanced at the digital alarm clock on the tiny nightstand. _1:09 A.M,_ it read. She sighed quietly to herself and ran a hand through her hair before gently getting out of bed. She was sure that she didn't wake Bill up as she snuck out of the small bedroom.

She crept towards the refrigerator and opened it. Immediately, Steph's eyes were frozen on the full bottle of wine that sat on one of the shelves. For a moment, she was very tempted to grab it. To chug the sweet but burning liquid down her throat and swallow her sorrows.

_No, not a good idea. Save it for later,_ Steph thought to herself as she shook her head. She instead grabbed a bottle of water and gulped it down in less than two minutes. She actually needed the cool and refreshing drink to soothe her problems. It was much better than alcohol anyway.

After finishing the water, she crushed the plastic bottle with her bare hands and tossed it into the trash can. She then quietly crept back into the bedroom and climbed into bed. The second she relaxed into the mattress, she felt Bill's arms wrap around her sleepily and she let him pull her close to him. She rested her head on his chest as she sighed, more content than she was hours earlier. But as she was about to drift off, another memory hit her like a freight train, and her eyes snapped open drowsily. She ended up falling asleep as she thought about it. However, she did take notice that some of the memory was only snippets or it was out of focus.

_"__Hey, guys! Wait, what's wrong? You seem like you just went through trouble," Steph said, a mildly concerned look on her face._

_She had exited Derry Middle School on the last day in June of 1989. She had just ran into a boy who she felt sympathy for. She couldn't quite remember his name 27 years later, but she recalled that he was very nice. And now, Steph was standing in front of her four best friends, who all looked either angry or overwhelmed._

_"__Bowers and his gang," Richie answered her quite easily and she rolled her eyes._

_"__Of course," she sighed, rubbing her temple in annoyance. "You guys okay?"_

_Bill nodded along with the other boys, and she smiled in relief. "I just had to warn the new kid about Bowers, so we're not the only ones he's after," she informed them._

_"__W-Wuh-Wuh-We should invite him to hang out with us th-th-this summer," Bill suggested. The idea made Steph grin at him in delight. "Yeah, we should," she replied. "That's a good idea, right boys?"_

_Richie laughed slightly. "Sure, invite the new boy into our club to make him even more of a target for Bowers," he said sarcastically. "Great freaking idea, Steph!"_

_"__Beep Beep, jerk!" she yelled at him in a warning manner._

_"__Sorry, m'lady!"_

_"__Seriously, Richie! Shut up!" another boy said. Steph also couldn't remember his name 27 years later, but she was sure that she would catch it soon._

_But Richie fell quiet, much to their relief, and they grabbed their bikes and rode away from the school. Steph looked around them to make sure that they were not being followed by the Bowers' Gang, and much to her elation, they didn't seem to be anywhere in sight. Ever since the day she befriended the boys, she grew a motherly and protective nature over them, but it wasn't overbearing. Instead, she truly did care for her boys and didn't want them hurt, even if it was by any bullies._

_27 years later, Steph realized that Bill was the only person that she could recognize clearly. She could barely remember Richie's name and what he looked like, but she was able to pinpoint the coke bottle glasses that framed the teenage boy's face. Other than that, she had to use her imagination to figure out what he and the rest of the boys looked like. _

_Oh well. She would be seeing them again as adults the day after having this dream._

_Yes, Steph was well aware that this was a memory based dream. She knew that. She almost felt as if her adult self was watching the events occuring in front of her. It was incredibly eerie, and it almost scared her._

_But as the memory continued, she noticed that things were beginning to click and everything was starting to get clearer. Richie's face was now recognizable and she now remembered the other boys' names._

_Eddie! Stan!_

Steph felt as if the names were screamed at her as she jerked awake. She didn't open her eyes, trying desperately to keep the memory latched in her subconscious fingertips. And, somehow, she didn't forget it like she had forgotten everything else that had happened 27 years ago. So, feeling reassured by this, she slowly fluttered her eyelids open, only to shield her face from the rays of sunlight that sliced through her vision.

Just as she sat up, Bill opened the door to the small bedroom. She looked at him and gave him a small and fake smile. He went over to the bed and sat down next to her, which made her lay her head on his shoulder. Steph glanced at the alarm clock that read _9:46 A.M._ She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying her hardest to stay awake as she and Bill sat in silence.

Bill didn't need to speak, just running a hand up and down his wife's arm to comfort her. He pressed a small kiss to her temple and normally, Steph would have smiled at this. But she didn't this time, although she did appreciate it.

"W-We need to leave in a little bit," Bill informed her in a soft voice. "I already pa-pack…" He sighed in annoyance with his stutter. "I already packed your s-s-s-suitcase."

Steph nodded slightly. "Okay," she murmured. Their flight left in just over two hours and she was mentally preparing herself for the near future events that would take place. This made her take a deep breath as she reluctantly freed herself from Bill's arm. She stood up and walked out of the room, but not before grabbing the clothes that she would be wearing that day. She went into the tiny bathroom and changed into them in a matter of seconds. She didn't bother to put her hair up, but did brush the tangles and knots out before brushing her teeth and exiting the bathroom.

There was obvious tension between the married couple, but they knew the real reason why, knowing that the horror of the situation they had just been placed in was difficult to handle. Steph tried to ignore it, but it was practically impossible to stay away from the problem. Bill knew this, too, but avoided causing an argument between them. He didn't have a reason or the guts to be angry with her, so he just stayed quiet.

It was hard for Steph to explain the situation to Audra as best as she possibly could. She basically told her best friend that she and Bill had to pause production due to an emergency, all the while keeping it pretty vague. Audra had been suspicious and a little outraged that they were leaving, but she understood. She was a little sad to see them leave but Steph assured her that they would be back in either a few days or a week.

She and Bill got into their car with their suitcases and drove away from the studio. Steph looked back and tried her best not to get as upset as she was truly feeling inside. Bill noticed how she looked and held her hand tightly, something that she really appreciated. In fact, she intertwined their fingers and squeezed his hand, something she always did whenever she was scared or nervous. If she could hug him, she would've, but there was a space between them that prevented that. Instead, still holding his hand, Steph leaned her head back against the seat, staring out the window. She honestly couldn't think of anything to say in this moment. But, it seemed like Bill did.

"Mike has a room at the townhouse f-fuh-for us," he told her. "So, we'll take our s-s-s-suh-suh-suitcases there and then meet up with Mike and the others tonight…"

Steph nodded, managing to give her husband a small and genuine smile. "Sounds like a plan," she replied somewhat confidently. Bill smiled back a little before focusing his attention onto the road again. She looked back out the window as the buildings of New York City sped past her line of vision, but she had the nerve to glance back down at her left hand after she let go of Bill's. There the old scar sat, aging with each passing second but not looking any different.

_And then Bill finally approached Steph, holding out the blood coated glass shard._

_He gently took hold of her hand and looked directly into her eyes. Steph closed her eyes for a moment at the feel of his fingers on her skin. She then opened them back up to see a worried and hesitant look in his eyes. Almost as if he didn't want to cut her hand at all. She raised an eyebrow at him in confusion._

_When Bill didn't move for several seconds, Steph took the hand that was holding the glass with her free one. He looked at her in shock, beginning to shake his head at the idea of hurting her. But a small glare from the girl made him relent._

_Steph took his hand and placed the sharp end of the glass onto her palm. She then looked back into Bill's bright blue eyes, only focusing on him as she cut into the skin._

_It took everything in the teenage girl to not even flinch at the sharp pain that shot throughout her entire hand. It almost felt as if it had been set on fire, but she didn't grimace or gasp in agony. Steph closed her eyes for a split second, however, but opened them back up quickly. She only focused on Bill, and that was enough for her to hide the pain._

_He let go of her hand briefly, dropping the shard of glass onto the ground where it would never be seen again. He then took her hand again, holding it tightly._

_Steph surprisingly didn't blush this time as she turned to take Beverly's hand in response. This eventually led to all of the Losers linking hands in their determination… Their promise… Their oath…_

_Their blood oath._

And she and Bill were fulfilling their oath. They were going back to Derry to finish off It once and for all.

But neither of them knew if the other would get through the next week alive.

* * *

**A/N: So, that's the second chapter! Bill and Steph are going back to Derry! Yay and nay at the same time... Uh...**

**MOVING ON!**

**Did you like Steph's reaction to this special piece of news? Heheheheheh! I thought it was very good!**

**Did you enjoy the sort of dream that Steph had? She's starting to remember, yay! Kind of...**

**Just saying, the third chapter is VERY LONG! I think you all will love that! The second half of it is the restaurant reunion :D Which is my favorite scene of the film!**

**What was your favorite part of this chapter? Let me know!**

**This is where I leave, unfortunately! If you want to PM me about this sequel and the first story, feel free to! I hope you enjoy this chapter, although it's obvious that you did! Have a great day, and until next time!**

**\- Hermione Romanoff**

**P.S. Thank you so much for 13 favorites and 10 follows!**


	3. Jade of the Orient

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC!**

**This chapter is dedicated to Connie Hooper, who dedicated a chapter to me in her own story, "Inevitable!" Go check out her story, it's incredible!**

**A/N: Four days later! And we get to the chapter you've all been waiting for, THE REUNION SCENE! Now, the scary stuff won't be in this chapter, that will be the next one! But, you will love this chapter a lot, I'm sure of it! This was the chapter I worked on the most, but I'm still not done with the fourth one! UGH! Hopefully I'll be done with it by Saturday!**

_**SuperSentai199: Thank you! And even though she's scared, she's still a strong character and will fight for her friends throughout the entire story!**_

_**KatietheEddie: Glad you liked this chapter! I can't relate to what you mentioned, since I'm only a teenager lmao**_

_**Angryfanfic: I am! Don't worry! It normally takes me a few days to update each chapter, because I have school every day.**_

_**robinmuffins: Thank you, my friend! I'm happy she's starting to remember, too!**_

_**Connie Hooper: Again, THANK YOU SO MUCH! And I know, he's so sweet to her! But there will be tension between them after this chapter. There's already hints of tension between them in this chapter.**_

_** .2019: Thank you! And I chose to have his stutter come back early for more effect. But it will disappear during the second half of this chapter for a little while.**_

_**Special thanks to Soldier-Girl-506, SuperSentai199, KatietheEggie, Angryfanfic, fictionfangirl1, REDROBINS007, ArtemisRenee, FigurativelyDying, robinmuffins, Connie Hooper and .2019 for either leaving a review or favoriting/following the last chapter!**_

**Enough chit-chat! Here is the third chapter!**

* * *

**_Chapter Three_**

_3 Hours Later_

_2:07 P.M._

_Bangor, Maine_

A hand on Steph's cheek made her jump almost violently in the plane. She had fallen asleep and Bill was waking her up. The moment she saw his slightly amused expression, she relaxed instantly, putting a hand on her chest and taking deep breaths. "Don't scare me like that," she said in the most calm voice that she could use.

"Sorry," Bill replied. "We landed, so I nuh-nuh-needed to wake you up…"

Steph's eyes widened just the slightest bit. "Oh," she murmured. "O-Okay…"

They had officially arrived in Maine. Bangor International Airport, in fact. And almost immediately, her heart started going a million miles an hour as she stood up and walked into the plane's aisle. She opened her luggage compartment and grabbed her suitcase out of it. She slowly, although it was only a few seconds, exited the airplane, Bill right behind her as their feet hit the pavement. Bill had told her hours ago that he was going to rent a car for them to drive the last hour and a half to Derry, which she reluctantly supported.

But until they could get it, they had to take a taxi from the airport to the car rental place. So, they strolled from the back entrance all the way to the front of the airport. All the while, Steph had an iron tight grip on the handle of her suitcase. She subconsciously reached her left arm out, and Bill took her hand instantly, making sure to stay close to her, not bearing to be away from her for a second at that very moment.

When the couple walked out of the building, Bill yelled for a taxi instantly. Luckily, it didn't take very long for one to pull up and they got in with their suitcases. When Steph closed the door to her right, she looked to see a man in his late fifties look at them through the rearview mirror.

"Can you take us to the nearest car rental lot, please?" she asked him politely.

"You got it, miss," he replied, pulling away from the parking lot.

"Thank you," she said a little quieter, her hand still clutching Bill's.

Luckily, the man in the driver's seat wasn't as annoying as some of the other taxi drivers Steph had briefly met in the past. He didn't ask any unnecessary questions, respecting their personal boundaries as he stayed quiet.

The entire ride, Bill and Steph kept their hands intertwined, his free hand covering theirs. He could practically feel her anxiousness, almost as if it were contagious, so he started caressing her hand to make her feel at ease. Like always, it worked, even though they were in a much worse situation than ever at this point.

In just less than five minutes, the taxi driver pulled up to the sidewalk that led to the car rental lot. Steph thanked him, handed him the money, and she and Bill grabbed their suitcases and got out of the car. They walked into the building and she saw the words _Enterprise Rent-A-Car! _scream out of the sign next to the door. Bill opened the door and they both stepped inside, which Steph noticed didn't look as nice as it could've, but it was okay; she had been in worse looking places before. But then again, all car rentals didn't look very nice, unless they were in a big city.

They managed to rent their car, promising to bring it back within the following week. Steph demanded that she drive this time, and Bill reluctantly allowed her to. And she drove, ignoring everything else around her, her heart thumping against her chest cavity. And, the closer she and Bill got to Derry, the faster her heartbeat went. This time, she didn't hold Bill's hand, instead gripping the steering wheel tighter than she ever had before.

She was very frightened, although she kept a calm face. She was terrified of how she would react once she entered her childhood town. Steph wondered if anyone she knew besides her best friends still lived there. She knew that new people had to have moved to the town within the past 27 years. Obviously, she herself didn't want to go back, but she knew that she had no choice now. Besides, it would be completely pointless to arrive in Derry and then immediately turn around and go back.

Also, she _did _want to see her friends again. She hadn't seen most of them in over two decades and she realized that she missed them. Like, _really_ missed them. And she wanted to see what they looked like in the modern day. Steph found herself thinking about the only memories she had of them, which was very few. And even they weren't clear enough for her to picture.

Bill kept glancing at Steph as they drove out of Bangor and into the middle of nowhere, worried about her. He wanted nothing more than to hold her but he knew that it wasn't the time for that at the very moment. He knew she was tense and that she was focused on something. So, he didn't say anything to her. There was a strained but slightly peaceful silence, and neither knew of what to say to one another. Steph was subconsciously in her own world, and Bill was in another.

He was trying his best to remember the good and bad times he had in Derry. Even the times before he and Steph started dating, but he wouldn't trade those days for any other.

As the car sped slightly through the countryside of Maine and they entered Old Town, his first thought was predictable enough: things had obviously changed, and they weren't even in Derry yet. But the predictable thought was followed by a feeling of dread that he didn't see coming. He remembered some of his childhood in Derry as a terrifying, fearful time… not only because of the summer of '89, when the eight of them faced the terror and the monster, but because of Georgie's death, the fight he and Richie had towards the beginning of that July, Bowers and Huggins and Criss constantly going after them even before the rock fight when they saved Mike.

But it was also slightly scary when he had made the move started a relationship with Steph. She had been his first and only girlfriend and they had made it this far. Wasn't that convenient? It only took a horrific summer full of murders and a monster to bring them together, but he wouldn't trade that for any other summer. Even now, nearly thirty years later, he was still so hopelessly in love with her that he almost couldn't handle it, despite the fact that he could barely remember their years of dating before their marriage.

But… the thing was… he didn't remember how they got together specifically. Whenever people asked how they had first met, he or Steph would tell them that they had become friends in middle school and that they started dating during high school.

Now, he finally remembered that they had been childhood friends before the romance had come into play. And when it did, it hit them both almost like a car accident. A car accident that was the greatest period of their lives for a long time. Well, that was before they got married. Now? Well, heck, they didn't know what to think after that. It was even better. Better than either of them could of ever imagined.

He perked up slightly when he began to see buildings again after they had driven right through Old Town. This was what finally broke Steph out of her long and drawn out thoughts, flinching as she herself noticed the buildings again. Her right hand unknowingly let go of the steering wheel and it gripped Bill's left tighter than ever. It was a small gesture of fear that they both shared, and they didn't need any words to know this.

She squeezed his hand, silently telling him that they should be calm, and then put it back on the wheel as she turned onto Route 7. She turned off the Interstate, wanting, for some reason she didn't understand, to stop the car for a brief moment so she could breathe.

But she kept her foot on the gas pedal, the car moving forward every microsecond, and in a matter of three minutes, entered a new town. And as the married couple in the vehicle moved further with it, the day started to lose its light.

Then Steph saw the sign. It was the same sort of sign which marked the borders of every single city she had ever visited. But this one in particular had made her heart skip a dozen beats!

_Penobscot_

_County_

_D_

_E_

_R_

_R_

_Y_

_Maine_

_Derry,_ she thought, _Derry, God help us. Derry. My childhood home…_

Here Steph and Bill were, entering Derry for the first time in almost twenty-three years. And the feeling, albeit mysterious, wasn't scary at all like they had expected. It was, in fact, strange but weirdly welcoming.

"We're here," she murmured and Bill nodded slowly. Strangely enough, Steph's racing heartbeat slowed down in a matter of seconds and her tight grip on the steering wheel loosened. She honestly had no clue why she was feeling this way, but she was relieved that she didn't react negatively. But one aspect made her feel a little uneasy as she drove a part of the way through the town.

Derry practically looked deserted twenty-seven years later. She saw that nowhere near as many people resided in the town, but she also noticed new buildings as well as old ones. The slight dread that settled within Steph wouldn't go away, as much as she wanted it to. She had never seen a town so eerie, so _empty_, even if people still lived there. It left her in awe, but it was not a pleasant type of awe. To be honest, she didn't even know what to feel in her moment of surprise.

She let out a long breath she had held for several seconds as she turned onto another street. Steph cast wary glances around the area she was currently in, more out of the slightest amount worry and but more curiosity than true fear. It was at that moment that she came to the realization: coming back to Derry was not as bad as she thought it would've been, but she also thought that it wouldn't last very long. No, not thought… She _knew_ it wouldn't.

She and Bill pulled up to the townhouse that Mike had rented for the eight of them and they sat in the car for a very long moment. There was nothing but silence, except for the occasional chirping of birds outside. They could both feel the emotional distance between themselves, and they both hated it. But they knew that it would be a while before they could do anything about it.

Still quiet, they both got out of the car and got their luggage. They carried their bags inside the building, and they were able to get inside, where Steph found a note and key on the front desk. She put one of her suitcases down and picked up the piece of paper, reading it carefully.

_Losers,_

_Here are the keys to your rooms. Take your bags in there and meet me at the Jade of the Orient at 8:00 P.M. We have a lot to catch up on._

_\- Mike_

Steph took the key that belonged to her and Bill and they both went upstairs; she reluctantly let her husband take her bags as well, but she took one of hers anyway. She unlocked the door when they came up to it, and the door swung open to reveal a small room, but Steph could tell that it was perfectly suited for the both of them as they entered. As Bill put the bags down, Steph pulled the curtains open slightly and looked outside at the many buildings that surrounded them.

She subconsciously felt for her pocket knife and gently pulled it out. But she didn't open it. Instead, she looked at the sleek black metal that was almost thirty years old. It felt like a million years ago now, but she knew that things were about to change for the worst. She didn't know if she was ready for that or not, but she would find out when the time eventually came.

"You okay?"

Steph flinched a little and turned around to face Bill. It was the first time she made eye contact with him since earlier that morning, and she felt a sense of relief as she looked at him. She shrugged. "I guess… I don't really know…" she replied, running a hand over her face and sitting down on the bed. "Sorry, just need a minute to process this," she added in a strained voice. Steph sighed as she stared towards the window, her gaze locked and unmoving, pondering everything in her mind.

Bill sat down beside her again, but didn't do anything else, knowing he shouldn't bother her. He looked at his watch, which read _3:27 P.M._ He sighed quietly, getting up and beginning to unpack his belongings, but not before glancing at his wife one more time. "Do you want me to unpack y-y-your things for you?" he asked quietly.

Steph was broken out of her thoughts by the sound of Bill's voice and turned to look at him. "No, it's fine," she murmured. "I'll do it." She herself then got up and began unpacking her own suitcase so he wouldn't have to do it for her.

And that was how the next four hours went; the tension between Steph and Bill was slowly but surely diffused as each minute passed, and they were eventually reduced to their regular selves. Even Bill's stutter disappeared for a while, which made them both happy. But, they both knew that it would only be a matter of time before they had to leave and face the inevitable. But _this_ time, Steph knew, she was ready for it.

"Maybe we should be there a little earlier. So… you know… we're not late," she suggested. "Sorry, I'm just such a perfectionist and I like to be at places early."

Bill shook his head, placing both of his hands on her shoulders. "It's okay, we'll go early if you want to," he assured her.

Steph nodded. "Thank you." She gave him a short hug, which he returned, but she pulled away before she could lose herself in that embrace. She looked at her watch; it was now _7:26_, so she knew that they both needed to leave very soon. "We can take the car, if you want," she offered to Bill, and he nodded.

"Yeah, it'll be quicker," he replied. "I'm driving, though." This made Steph giggle a little.

"Fine then," she said in a slightly sassy manner. "Be rude." They both laughed at this remark as they exited the townhouse and got into the rental car. Bill started the car and they pulled away from the sidewalk.

It wasn't a very long drive from the townhouse to the Jade of the Orient. Steph had turned the GPS on, so they were able to find their way to the fairly new restaurant quite easily. And when they pulled into the parking lot, Steph was in awe of how beautiful the building looked; she almost forgot that she and Bill were even in Derry for a moment, but she knew that she would have to be an idiot to think that. She looked at her husband and noticed that he looked just as shocked as her. But there was a good reason for this; it had something to do with the fact that they had not been in their hometown for nearly two and a half decades.

"You ready?" Bill asked, breaking Steph out of her thoughts once more.

"Yeah, I guess," she replied. "We had to have gotten here before the others, right?"

Bill nodded. "Well, Mike got a room for all of us inside. But, you never know, they may already be here," he explained, shrugging his shoulders. Steph laughed quietly as she looked towards the restaurant once more, inhaling a deep breath. After a few seconds, she exhaled and nodded. "Let's do this," she said, making eye contact with Bill.

He smiled and got out of the car, gently closing the door. He quickly walked to the other side of the car and opened the passenger door for Steph before she could. She grinned for the first time in several hours and took his extended hand, feeling like she was a teenager again. She got out of the car and she shut the door, Bill locking the vehicle with the keys. He laced his fingers with hers and they began their walk towards the building, exchanging glances every now and then and smiling at each other. When they entered the building, they failed to notice four more cars pull into the parking lot.

The couple approached the front counter, where a female employee with a warm smile greeted them. Steph noticed that she looked a little surprised that two famous people were in a small town restaurant, but she was relieved that the employee pretended that they were normal people.

"Welcome to Jade of the Orient," she greeted them. "A table for two?"

Steph smiled back and shook her head. "No, ma'am," she replied. "A good friend of ours reserved a room for eight. Mike Hanlon is his name."

The employee smiled even wider. "Of course!" she exclaimed. "Follow me." The couple did so, following her into a closed off private room. Bill missed a step and Steph struggled to not laugh at him. "Be careful," the employee warned him politely. Then she gestured inside the room. "Here you are."

"Thank you, ma'am," Steph told her with a grin. They stepped into the room, which looked fancier than any restaurant they had seen recently. It made the woman's eyes widen in wonder as she looked around the room.

"Hey."

Steph nearly jumped a mile in the air at the sudden voice that rang in her ears. At first, it sounded vaguely unfamiliar, but as she and Bill turned to their left, a sigh of relief escaped her lips. She put a hand on her chest to calm her racing heartbeat as Mike Hanlon approached them. "Mike, you look good," Bill greeted him, and he was forced to let go of his wife's hand when the man that they hadn't seen in over twenty years engulfed him in a bear hug.

"Woah!" Bill exclaimed in slight surprise. "Hey, how're you doing?" He patted Mike on the back as he returned the hug, which only lasted a few seconds. They pulled away, and that gave Steph the opportunity to step forward and give Mike a warm hug. "Hey, homeschool!" she said happily, making all three of them laugh as the two pulled away.

"I didn't know if any of you would come here after all this time," Mike explained, "but of course _you two_ came."

Steph laughed slightly. "An oath is an oath, Mike," she assured him, and Bill nodded. "She's right," he said. "Losers… gotta stick together, right?"

Mike smiled. "_Losers_… You remember that, that's good," he inquired. "Wait, what else do y'all remember?"

Steph thought long and hard for a small moment, and was about to open her mouth when they all heard another voice seconds later.

"...and I'm allergic to soy, uh, anything that has egg in it, uh, gluten…"

The woman's jaw dropped when she saw a taller man walk into the room, but he looked just above her height. He had brown hair and lines of age in his face; he was wearing a neat blue shirt with a red jacket over it as he was counting things off on his fingers. An amused smile formed on Steph's face when the man made eye contact with her and froze.

"...and if I eat a cashew, I could… realistically die…" The man's eyes widened as he looked between the three adults standing before him, the female employee walking away while he stayed rooted to the spot. "Holy crap!" he breathed out, which made Steph laugh a little.

To everyone's shock, the man stepped forward and hugged the only female first. "Stephanie Palmer!" he gasped, his arms gently hugging her to him in a friendly manner. She returned the embrace instantly with a big smile on her face.

"Hey, Eds!" she replied. "It's been ages, I know." They both laughed as Eddie pulled back to examine his best friend with a surprised look on his face. "You look great," he complimented her, and she gave him a polite smile. "Thanks," she said, "you too." She then watched Eddie hug the others and exclaim that it had been so long since they had last seen one another, and she couldn't stop smiling. She and Bill looked at each other for a moment, and he gave a nod of his head as if to say, "Losers will be Losers." She shrugged, humored by the look on his face.

A fleeting feeling overtook the woman at the moment. Although she didn't know when the others were going to show up, she was very happy seeing her best friends reunite after a long time apart. Just yesterday, she didn't even remember them at all, with the exception of Bill. And now, here they were, seeing them again, and she didn't even know the true feeling that was hidden in the back of her mind.

What she also didn't know was that she would come to see that feeling in front of her soon enough…

But one thing she and Bill had decided was to keep their marriage a secret until the others showed up. The couple knew that they would be very surprised, but they were going to find out sooner or later anyway, so why not reveal it to them during their reunion, right?

_Not another freaking better time to do it than now,_ Steph thought to herself as she turned away to hide her secretive laughter.

The second she turned around, a loud _BANG!_ rang in her ears, making her gasp and nearly scream in surprise. She managed to hold her voice as she looked ahead. "What in the world?!" she said in a low voice, placing a hand on her chest as a smile grew on her face, seeing the three new people that entered the room.

"This meeting of the Losers' Club has officially begun!"

"Look at _these_ guys," Eddie stated sarcastically, but with a smile.

Two men and a woman were standing in the large doorway; one of the men had messy black hair and large, coke bottle glasses that framed the top half of his smirking face; the other one had neater black hair and a taller, slimmer build that complemented with the neat city clothes he wore. The woman wore nice clothes that Steph would see Audra wearing, but the standout feature was the short hair that gleamed and flamed the color red, and it reminded her of fire.

Beverly walked forward and embraced Steph tightly, which made tears swim in the woman's eyes as she hugged back. "Thank God you're here," Beverly said in a relieved voice, "or else I would be the only lady here!"

Steph chuckled through the battling tears when they pulled away. "Don't worry, I got your back, Bev," she told her, patting her shoulder. "Oh, you never wrote me, by the way."

The woman in front of her shrugged. "Well, time flies and you forget," she replied nonchalantly. Steph shook her head while fighting off another smile, going over to Ben. "New kid on the block!" she said dramatically, hugging Ben. His embrace was welcoming and friendly, and she loved it, but she couldn't help but quickly examine him after they broke the hug.

"You look different," she said, eyebrows raised. "But you look good."

"Thanks, you look great, Steph," he complimented in the same tone that Eddie had used earlier. She nodded, silently thanking him, and finally approached the last member of the Losers' Club that had showed up.

"Well, if it isn't the Trashmouth himself!" she exclaimed, throwing his arms around him, hugging him lightly. "It's great to see you again," Richie responded, genuinely happy to be reunited with a friend he hadn't seen in so long. When the two pulled away, Steph smirked at him.

"You look like crap," she remarked jokingly, and her friend pretended to be offended.

"I do?" he asked in a hurt voice, although that crooked smile never left his face. "I thought I looked _great_! You look okay, I guess." They both laughed hysterically as Steph punched Richie in the arm, and they could hear everyone else laugh behind them.

Later on, all seven of them sat at the round table in the middle of the room and had ordered their food. They took their tiny glasses of drinks and clinked them together, and while Steph and most of the others drank them slowly, Richie chugged his down in one gulp, the glass thudding on the table. He looked at Eddie with an amused smile. "So, wait… Eddie, you got _married_?" he asked in disbelief.

Eddie glared at him. "Yeah. Why's that so freaking funny?!" he snapped back.

"What… to, like, a _woman_?" Steph could see him trying to use a straight face, but close to failing.

Eddie pointed his chopsticks menacingly at Richie. "Screw you, bro…"

Richie chuckled at this remark. "_Screw you!_" he yelled.

Bill looked at his friend, a skeptical look etched into his face. "All right, what about _you_, Trashmouth?" he asked, his eyebrows raised. "You married?"

Steph shook her head. "I'm not buying that for a second. It's not true, don't believe him!" she told them. Beverly laughed. "I agree with the other lady," she said. "There's _no way_ Richie's married!"

"No, I got married!" Richie informed them, looking dead serious. Steph stretched her free arm out to get a bite of food, her right hand linked with Bill's under the table. "Richie, you really expect us to believe that?" she told him skeptically, sitting back down.

"Yeah, when?" Eddie asked. Richie turned to him.

"Did you not hear this?" Richie inquired, exasperated that his friends didn't know this information.

"No," Eddie replied.

"Oh, you didn't know I got married?"

"No."

Richie gave a nod of his head, his face still serious. "Yeah, no, me and your mom are very, very happy right now."

Bill choked on his glass of beer. He coughed a little as everyone laughed hysterically at what Richie said. Steph whacked him on the back to help him breathe again. She laughed when he pointed at Eddie, making fun of him. "He totally fell for it!" he said through his laughter.

"Shut up!" Eddie said, his expression one of irritation, but somewhat stoic.

"Yeah, she's very sweet," Richie told him. "Sometimes, she'll put her arm around me, and she'll whisper to me. She'll go: _Biso cobatha comaso misa wookie_…"

Steph, understanding that Richie was mimicking Atilla the Hun, laughed harder than she had in years. That was when she realized how much she had missed Richie bringing levity to the Losers' Club with his jokes. She was suddenly grateful for her best friend's presence.

"We _all_ get it, my mom is a great big fat person!" Eddie said without any regret whatsoever. Steph shushed him, not wanting to hear him say that out loud. But she failed to keep him quiet.

"_Hilarious! Hysterical!_" Eddie shouted sarcastically. Everyone was doubled over with laughter after this.

"So, Steph…" Richie got her attention, making her turn to him as she took another sip of her drink. "How's life been these past twenty-something years? You had to have done _something_ with your life!"

"Ha ha," she fake laughed. "But no, uh, I became an actress and I've been in multiple horror films. I'm currently filming one, but we had to pause production so I could come back here."

Richie nodded. "So you've probably been in some crappy films and they did terrible," he remarked with a smirk. Steph scoffed at this and glared at him, shaking her head at his joke.

"Wait a minute… Steph!" The woman turned her head to Ben and noticed his expression was one of confusion. "You and Bill dated when we were teenagers, right?" he asked her. She nodded. "Did you guys break up or something, you guys are acting like you haven't seen one another in so long…"

Steph sighed quietly and leaned over to Bill. "Should we tell them?" she whispered. He smirked at her. "Let me handle it," he replied.

He took their connected hands and raised them up for the others to see. They all looked confused. "Uh… I don't get it, is this a guessing game?" Richie asked. This made Steph sigh more audibly and she stretched her left hand out, and they finally saw the ring.

"You got_ freaking married_?!" Eddie asked in disbelief. "Holy cow!"

"You should've invited me!" Richie yelled. "I feel left out!"

"Hey, guys," Ben said, waving his hand, "stop teasing them."

"Yeah, leave them alone, you're practically humiliating them," Beverly scolded them.

Steph smiled at her two supportive best friends gratefully. "Thanks, you two," she told them, nodding at them appreciatively before turning to the other two. "Sorry we didn't tell you guys, Mike already knew before we got here."

"Wait, how did Mike know?" asked Richie, squinting his eyes in confusion.

"She accidentally told me when I called her," said Mike simply.

"How long has it been since you two tied the knot?" This question came from Eddie, who was a lot more calm about the situation.

"Just about… twenty years, right, honey?" Bill said, looking at Steph with a questioning look. But she could see through his act and playfully punched his arm.

"Don't you dare pretend you're stupid!" she berated him, and everyone else snickered at their behavior.

"And you guys are still as disgustingly cute as I remember!" Richie proclaimed, grinning proudly.

"Beep beep, Richie!" Steph replied, jutting a finger at his face.

"Congratulations, guys," Ben said, genuinely happy for them, and Steph smiled at him.

"Wait," Richie spoke up again, "let's talk about the elephant _not_ in the room. _Ben_…" He gestured to the now thin man, and he smiled. "What the heck, man?"

"Okay okay, _obviously_, I lost a few pounds…" Ben explained briefly, but paused, sounding a little reluctant to say it.

"Yeah, _no crap_, you lost a few pounds," Eddie pressed onward in an exasperated voice. Steph raised her glass and gestured to Ben with a grin. "I'm proud of you, Haystack!" she complimented him. He nodded his thanks to her.

"You're like, uh, you're _hot_."

Ben chuckled a little when he heard this escape Richie's lips. "It's true," Eddie agreed, making him a little more embarrassed.

"No, you're like every Brazilian soccer player wrapped up into one person," Richie added, trying to not laugh. Steph and Bill laughed hysterically at what he said. Beverly was smiling, but Steph could see the slight sympathy for Ben.

"Leave him alone, you're embarrassing him," she said, her eyes directed to Ben.

"Okay, okay… All right! Is… Is Stanley coming or what?" Ben asked, looking towards the only empty seat in the room. Everyone fell silent as they followed his glance while he muttered, "Someone save me…"

Richie stared at the vacant chair for a few seconds, seeming to be thoughtful in that moment. "Stan, uh…" He then turned his head in Steph and Bill's direction, although he was looking at the latter. "Stan Uris…"

"Stan _Urine_," they both said at the same time, making Steph glare daggers at Richie and kick Bill's foot slightly; she said nothing, though.

"Stanley Urine," Richie repeated. "No, no, he's a freaking wimp, he's not gonna show…"

Steph shushed him, trying to get him to lower the amount of language he was using. Richie playfully glared at her. "Okay, go ahead and make me shut up, _Mom_," he replied, pretending to be irritated. "Weren't _you_ the Loser that pretty much competed with me on how much we cursed?"

"Yeah, but guess what, Trashmouth? Those days are over. You're dang right they are," Steph proudly proclaimed, although half lying. Richie shockingly seemed to believe her despite this.

"Why would _Stanley_ save you, anyway?" Eddie asked Ben, ignoring their banter. "Was _I_ not the one who basically performed surgery on you after Bowers cut you up?" Ben nodded and Eddie's eyes widened a little. "Holy crap, that's right!"

"Based on that, you were bound to become a doctor one day, Eds," Steph told him, sounding a little hopeful. "Did you ever get a career in that field?"

Eddie shook his head, and Steph felt a little disappointed. "Uh, no, I ended up becoming a risk analyst," he replied, sounding slightly proud.

"Oh, that sounds really interesting," Richie said, seemingly very invested. "What does that entail?" He then sat back to listen to him.

"Yeah, so, I work for, like, a big insurance firm and…" Then the sound of snoring filled Steph's ears, and she struggled not to laugh as Eddie scowled in Richie's direction; the man had his head hanging over the back of his chair, mouth hanging open as he pretended to be asleep, wheezes and snores coming out of his mouth. He then seemed to hear everyone's laughter, since he raised his head back up as if he awakened again.

Everyone burst into hysterical laughter over this, covering their mouths and trying not to choke on their food. Steph was laughing, but was slightly irritated as well. "Rich, that was mean," she rebuked through her giggles. Eddie, meanwhile, had his unwavering glare locked onto Richie.

"Screw you, dude…" he said, his voice monotone but also full of anger. "_Screw you_."

"Was this job invented before fun?" Richie asked facetiously. Steph and Bill snorted in response.

"Oh, that's _so_ not funny," Eddie snapped at him.

"It _is_ funny," Richie argued.

Eddie turned to Ben, and glowered at him as well. Ben was chuckling quietly.

"What the heck are _you _laughing at?!" he shouted, very offended.

Beverly waved a hand around, raising her bottle of alcohol. "I propose a toast… to the Losers…"

Everyone clinked their bottles together.

* * *

**A/N: Great to have a light-hearted scene before all of the horror truly comes into play! Yay!**

**The reunion scene is my favorite scene of the film, so I'm sure you loved this chapter!**

**DID you love this chapter? Let me know!**

**I personally love the banter between Steph and Richie, let me know if you do as well!  
**

**Are you excited for the fortune cookie scene in the next chapter? HYPE IT UP!**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Be looking forward to the next one! Have a great day, and until next time!**

**\- Hermione Romanoff**


	4. You Knew it Would Happen!

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC!**

**A/N: Well, we're here with another chapter! Yay! It actually took me a while to finish this one, only getting it done YESTERDAY! Whew! That's a relief! But I know ou guys will enjoy it nonetheless, since this is when the horror begins! :)**

_**SuperSentai199: I know, right?! Bill Hader stole the show in It: Chapter Two and was my favorite part!**_

_**KatietheEggie: Thank you so much! The reunion scene is my favorite scene and the funniest scene of the the film and this story! And yes, Bill and Steph are 100% goals!**_

_**Connie Hooper: You are very welcome! The third chapter was so fun to write and this one is slightly long, mostly because of the author's note lol And yes, things get really serious in this chapter :(**_

_**robinmuffins: Thank you, I did too! The Losers are the best squad goals in the history of squad goals! And you get the next chapter here! :D**_

_** .2019: Thank you! And I know... I miss Stan the Man :(**_

_**Guest: Yup, that's pretty much the plot lol**_

_**Special thanks to B Row 19, SuperSentai199, KatietheEggie, Connie Hooper, robinmuffins, .2019, and Guest for either leaving a review or favoriting/following the last chapter!**_

**P.S. In the author's note at the end, I have something I want to ask you. Read it after you read this chapter.**

**Now, without further ado, here is the fourth chapter!**

* * *

**_Chapter Four_**

"So, wait… _Beverly Fashions_? That's you?!" Steph exclaimed, her eyes wide in surprise.

Beverly nodded, a small beam rested on her face, a twinkle in her blue-green eyes as she opened her mouth to speak again. "Yeah, that's me," she replied, taking another sip of her drink and putting it down seconds later.

"I can't believe I didn't put two and two together and realize you own the company!" Steph said, mentally scolding herself for not finding out much sooner.

"Yeah, I run the company… Well, me and my husband, Tom…" Beverly added, reaching out for another bite of an appetizer. Steph noticed the hesitant look in the woman's eyes as she mentioned her husband, and was so close to asking if she was okay. But for some reason, she fell silent for just a second, staring at Beverly as she did so.

"How long have you two been married?" she asked instead.

Beverly reached for another appetizer. "Hey, Bill!" she said, getting his attention. "We saw y'all's movie," she added, changing the subject right away. "It was really good!"

"You think so?" Steph questioned, smiling, secretly relieved that she didn't have to go over the last subject just yet.

"Yeah, I loved it. You were amazing in the movie, as well," Bev continued, complimenting the other woman.

"Thanks so much!" Steph said in response, slightly embarrassed by the courtesy, but grinning nonetheless.

"And the ending sucked?" Bill asked, smirking, causing the blonde-haired woman to roll her eyes a little. Her husband was infamous for writing endings that people reacted negatively to. She herself actually liked his endings because they were different, and it always made her mad whenever Bill would get hate for how either a book or a movie concluded.

She could see the uncertainty on Beverly's face as she froze for a moment, before reluctantly nodding. "It did, yeah. I'm so sorry," she said apologetically. "I liked a part of it, but it wasn't very good."

Bill waved his hand dismissively. "It's fine, really. I thought it wasn't the best, either," he replied, accepting her apology easily as a friendly gesture. Steph zoned out after this, not paying attention to the rest of their conversation as she started thinking. Thinking for so long that both Bill and Beverly noticed.

"Steph, what is it?" the latter asked her. The woman flinched a little in surprise, but turned to her anyway.

"It's just… I can't believe I'm only _now_ remembering…" she explained. "You know what I'm talking about, right?" At Beverly's nod, she continued. "It's just crazy…"

There was a lengthy silence that followed this revelation, the only thing Steph focused on being Bill's hand holding hers again as she looked down. She didn't know what else to say following this, the strange feeling she had earlier slowly returning.

"It's weird, right?" Ben spoke up, and Steph looked at him along with the others, paying attention now. "Now that we're all here, everything's coming back… faster and faster. I mean, all of it." Steph nodded in agreement with what he was saying, feeling the chipper mood around the table slowly begin to die down, her heartbeat starting to go faster again, although she didn't notice it at the moment.

"Yeah, you know, when Mike called me, I threw up…" Richie admitted. Steph could still hear the smile in his voice, but he also sounded somewhat somber. But a bit of surprise flowed through her at the same time.

"Me too," she added. "I felt disgusted, and I'm starting to think I really remember why…" She cast her eyes downward again, unknowingly letting go of Bill's hand after she said this, all the while shuddering as she did so.

"Isn't that weird?" Richie continued. "Like, I got nervous… I got sick and threw up. I mean, I feel fine now, I'm relieved to be here with you guys…" Everyone, except for Steph, stared at him as if he had said something crazy, and he blinked once in confusion. "Why is everybody looking at me like this?" he asked, his voice a little quieter.

The entire time he was explaining this, Steph endured the feeling of her stomach twisting into a knot; a knot that would never leave until all of this was over. She suddenly felt cold, as if someone had blasted an air conditioner into the room, chills speeding down her spine.

"When Mike called me, I crashed my car," Eddie said, his voice a little low. Steph looked at him with wide eyes and a worried look.

"You're okay, right, Eds?" she asked him in a concerned voice, albeit gentle. He nodded.

"Yeah, I hear ya. You know, my heart was beating out of my chest," Ben explained, his voice now hoarse.

"I thought it was only me," Beverly whispered from where she was sitting beside Steph. She nodded in agreement.

Bill also nodded. "It was like it was pure f-f-f-f…" Steph's heart plummeted at the fact that her husband was stuttering again, and she knew that he was trying to say it; but she also knew that he was furious that he couldn't get the word out.

"Fear," Mike finished for him. "It was fear, what you felt.

Bill silently confirmed it. "Like we all f-f-feel it that way," he commented. He then turned to Mike, a slightly troubled look in his eyes. "You remember something we don't, don't you, Mike?"

There was a short silence as Steph cast her eyes over to the man Bill had directed the question to, her own look full of distress. But she was paying attention when Mike began to explain, absorbed in what he said next.

"Something happens to you when you leave this town," he commenced. "The farther away, the hazier it all gets… But me? I never left… So, yeah… I remember… I remember _all_ of it…"

Steph couldn't move… She was frozen in place as he concluded what he was saying; her hands clenched into fists, her nails digging deep into her skin, her eyes wider than they had ever been in her life. She didn't know what to say, she didn't know what she even wanted to say, but she knew that one word kept echoing

_(screaming)_

in her mind. But her lips wouldn't let her repeat the word.

"_Pennywise,_" Beverly said for her.

A surge of adrenaline raced through Steph's blood, almost as if it were desperately wanting to escape. Her heart was beating so fast that she thought it would tear out of her chest. As much as she wanted to run or collapse, she remained rooted in her chair. Her eyes were wide in fear just as she felt the urge to vomit; she could feel the slightest hint of bile building up in her throat and her fists began to sweat. Throughout all of the deadly silence, she was somehow able to breathe, but it came in and out as more wheezing than really breathing.

"Oh, the freaking clown," Eddie realized, gasping and feeling for his inhaler.

"Oh crap," Ben murmured, leaning back in his chair.

"Pennywise," Richie repeated, his eyes wider than Steph had ever seen them.

"_It,_" she whispered ever so quietly; she still had the inkling that everyone else could hear her, as Bill gripped her hand to calm her down. She finally swallowed the puke, leaving a bitter feeling in the back of her throat.

"Mike, you said you wanted our help with something, what was that?" Bill asked, his voice trembling now.

"There's an echo here in Derry that bounces back," he answered. "Every 27 years—"

"What are you talking about?" Eddie said, his tone negative towards Mike as the words ejected from his mouth.

"Hold on, listen," Mike told him.

"No, I don't—" Eddie began, but was cut short.

"Let him finish," Steph ordered with a glare, and he went quiet.

"We thought we stopped It back then… All right? We thought It was done, but…" Mike suddenly stopped, opening his journal that he had brought with him to the restaurant.

"Mike…" Richie sighed, not wanting to hear the rest. Mike wasn't having it, ignoring him as he continued.

"A week ago, a man, Adrian Mellon, _slaughtered_…"

That was when the whole table broke out into protests, but mostly from Eddie and Richie. Steph tried to shut them up as they kept voicing their reluctance to listen.

"A girl, Lisa Albrecht, the other night, went missing. There've already been others, and there _will_ be more!"

Steph started to get irritated, but it didn't clean the sense of terror that resonated with her and wouldn't go away. She face palmed at the amount of speaking that was going on and, although she truly didn't want to hear what else Mike had to say, she knew that she had to.

"Shut up, you two!" she berated Eddie and Richie.

"Calm down, man," Ben told Mike.

"Let's just get another drink," Bill suggested, but the misery never left his tone.

"Just let him explain," Ben said, "let him explain…"

"Explain the rest to us, Mike," Steph spoke in a reserved voice. Mike thanked her speechlessly.

"That echo?" he continued. "We might have changed it… Just like _It_ changed us, but we didn't stop It… Because It just bounced back."

Steph's fists tightened even more, her lips pressing into a thin line as she refused to voice her fear about what he said.

"We made an oath… All right? _That's_ why I brought you back, _that's_ why you're here… To finish It… for good…" Mike finished, leaving a disturbing stillness around the table. Steph finally let out a shaky but hushed breath, closing her eyes for a small moment.

"Well, that crap got dark fast," Richie deadpanned. "Thanks, Mike."

"Beep beep, Richie," Steph uttered in annoyance.

Eddie stretched his arm across the table and plucked one of the dozens of fortune cookies from the wooden bowl that sat in the middle. The others followed suit, grabbing one for each of themselves, Steph taking one and stashing it away in her jacket pocket; she could open it later. She watched as the others opened theirs, no longer smiling, since the sickening feeling wouldn't leave her subconscious. She had bad thoughts about what was in their hands, so that may have really been why she didn't open hers.

A sense of peace washed through her when they broke a portion of their cookies off, seeing that there weren't horrifying things hidden inside; only slips of paper sat in them.

"My fortune cookie just says '**Could**,'" Eddie spoke up, his voice just the tiniest bit unstable. Steph scowled in confusion, looking over at Bill's slip of paper, which read '**Not**.' Two conclusions flooded her mind: either something fishy was going on, or the fortunes were fake ones. Either way, she was starting to feel unnerved.

"They don't know how to do fortune cookies here, _mine_ just says '**Guess**,'" Richie added, holding up his slip of paper for everyone to see. Steph confirmed the word printed onto it, puzzled about either what was going on or what was going to happen next.

"You wanna throw that over here?" Bill requested, standing up, putting his own flimsy piece of paper onto the table. Ben passed his to him, and Steph read the word as '**Cut**.' This one in particular sent a mild chill through her as she looked at it, suddenly grateful that she didn't open her cookie at all. But she was still worried about what hers would've said. She watched as Bill sorted the slips out, reading Mike's, labeled '**It**.' She stood up next to him, just as the others did.

"What the…?" Eddie muttered quietly, no longer scared, but just as puzzled as she was. Everyone else was also confused, trying to order the words correctly.

"'**Guess… Cut… Not… Could… It…**'" Richie guessed, causing Steph to give him a bewildered look of disbelief.

"How the heck does _that_ make any sense?" she asked him sharply, and he raised his hands in defense.

"I'm just guessing," he said, and she rolled her eyes a little.

"It's a message," Mike warned him, and Steph quietly told him to calm down.

"No…" Richie said thoughtfully to himself. "'**Guess… It Could Not Cut…**'"

Eddie scoffed. "Why would it guess it could not cut?" he questioned, but Richie ignored him, confirming what he theorized to be what the words read.

After that, the whole table broke out into a debate over what the words said. The entire time, Steph was trying to calm them down, surprised that Richie was the most collected of all of them. Eddie was the most hysterical, and she demanded that he sit down and get himself under control while she switched the papers around to where one was in another place. She was so perplexed because she knew that none of the words could make a coherent sentence in the slightest.

Richie started accusing Mike of messing with their fortune cookies, to which he replied with, "This isn't me, this is what… _It_ does…"

"I need my freaking inhaler!" Eddie yelled, and there was more and more bickering. But Steph was drawn out of all this when she noticed that one person still had not spoken.

"Beverly, are you okay?" she asked, feeling as if she had taken complete responsibility over the whole situation. Her facial expression switched from one of irritation to one of uneasiness as she saw tears streaming down Beverly's face.

The red-haired woman was holding her own piece of paper in rattling hands as she leaned forward to set it on the table. Steph kept looking at her best friend's anguished expression, not trusting herself to look down just yet, hearing the trembling breathing entering and leaving Beverly.

That was when she finally looked down and gasped. "Oh no," she sighed, her voice sounding distressed as she conveyed the word. Bill looked just as scared as she did, staring down at the word that Steph's best friend had laid on the table. With a quivering hand, she took the exact slip of paper and slid it between the words '**Guess**' and '**Could**.' Bill followed her movements, taking the other word and putting it at the end of the now formed sentence. It suddenly clicked for Steph, for the words spelled out:

**'Guess Stanley Could Not Cut It.'**

She put a hand on her forehead, her eyes shimmering with tears as she stared down at the table. Pure horror rushed through her veins, and hit her like a falling brick, just like the feeling of an icy dagger to the heart. She could feel her fear crawling up her ribs, settling in her chest in an uncomfortable manner. Every time she took a breath, she was reminded that the situation she was going through was so very real.

"Wuh-Why does it say 'Stanley?' Eddie demanded in a voice that sounded like it didn't belong to him. Steph shook her head, almost as if she knew the real answer, and didn't want to tell him. But Eddie could see this, and finally snapped.

"_Someone else freaking answer me!_" he screamed.

At that moment, a giant _THUD!_ made the table shake and thump back against the floor. Steph reeled back, Bill holding a hand on her arm to help keep her away. She couldn't see what had caused the sudden noise for a second, but after looking at the table again, she could see the dozens of fortune cookies squirming around in the bowl. She grimaced a little, backing away further as one of them jumped onto the table.

"What the heck is _that_, man?" Richie asked, trying to lighten the mood, but Steph glared at him.

"Not the time, Trashmouth!" she warned him just as the cookie cracked and a slimy leg poked out, making her gag in disgust.

"Oh, my God!" Richie exclaimed as the cookie completely broke off of the baby figure. Steph could see a baby head attached to a spider body, Beverly screaming at the same time she acknowledged this. The creature screamed and ran at Mike, and he jumped out of his chair, backing towards the fish tanks.

She bravely stepped forward and pulled Beverly out of her own chair just as Eddie and Ben backed into a corner.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Bill shouted. "Steph, stay back!"

She chose to listen to him, and stayed pressed against the wall while another cookie flew out of the bowl, right in front of Richie. "Shoot," he whispered. But what he saw next made him cower slightly in terror.

"Hey, hey! THAT FORTUNE COOKIE'S LOOKING AT ME!" he cried out as a revolting eyeball slithered its way across the table towards Richie.

Another fortune cookie. This time, a bat wing tore itself out of it, but the rest of whatever was in there stayed inside. Eddie looked like he was about to cry, his hands covering his face. "I don't want to be here, I wanna go home," he sobbed.

"Dang it!" Richie shouted, now sounding more dumbfounded than scared.

Suddenly, the bat wing floated towards Eddie, attacking him. Steph screamed in horror, wanting to help her best friend, but Bill's hand on her arm forbid her to move.

"EDDIE!" Richie yelled, now terrified for his best friend.

Just as he said this, a black, hissing liquid oozed out of the bowl, covering the entire table in the substance. Steph looked away, repulsed at what she was looking at. She could hear a chanting chorus to her right and looked to see what it was.

God, she wished she didn't.

There were grotesque and bloody skulls floating around in the fish tanks, and she shrieked, dragging Beverly backwards, blocking her with her arms. She would realize much later that this was out of pure instinct, just like in the past.

"IT'S NOT REAL!" Mike screeched, picking up a chair and whacking at the table. "IT'S NOT REAL!"

Steph hugged Beverly to her as Bill came over and blocked both of them. All three of them barely avoided random objects that flew across the room as a result of Mike slamming the chair against the table.

"Is everything all right?"

Everyone fell silent. Steph looked up to see the waitress from earlier staring into the room with a look of utter disbelief. She herself felt a little embarrassed but relieved that nothing was at their table anymore. No black fluid, no demonic fortune cookies. Just a regular table, although some of the plates and glasses were shattered. For a split second, Steph locked eyes with the waitress and nodded, silently saying that everything was all right.

"Yeah," said Richie in a confident voice. "Yeah, could we get the check?" He then made a writing gesture with his hand. The waitress nodded once and walked out of the room as quickly as she entered. Richie dropped his fake smile the second she left.

Bill turned to Steph and Beverly, concern written all over his face. "Are you two hurt?" he asked. She shook her head, looking at Bev, who did the same.

"We're fine, honey," she assured him, and he nodded, hugging her close for a second. "Let's get out of here," she told the others.

Everyone else seemed to agree with her order, since they all simultaneously grabbed their things and left the room. Steph grabbed her purse and walked out behind them, denying Bill's offer to comfort her. He didn't look as upset as she knew he felt, but she knew that she needed to comfort the others. She would have time for him to comfort her later.

"That's what Pennywise does," Eddie stated, "he just messes with us, so Stan's probably fine…" Steph nodded, hoping that this was true as they inched closer to the main doors.

"Mike, do you have Stan's number?" Beverly asked, digging in her purse for her cell phone. He nodded, replying with, "Yeah."

"Hey, Richie!"

Everyone froze, turning around to glimpse at the source of the voice.

A boy who looked to be around eight or nine stood about six feet away from them, and he seemed to have a smug look on his face. Steph noted the curly, dirty blonde hair that rested atop his head, and she was eerily reminded of Stan when they were teenagers; the only difference was that he was dressed in a regular t-shirt, jeans, and a blue jean jacket, a far cry from what Stan would normally wear.

"How… How'd you know my name?" Richie asked in a shaken voice. Steph didn't speak at all, her eyes locked onto the boy.

"The fun's just beginning… Right?" the boy said, and his voice screamed out a thought to Steph. It sounded beyond

_(sinister)_

strange and

_(demented)_

weird. She herself didn't know what to do as she stood there, frozen in a sort of terror that didn't seem to resonate with her physical being.

Eddie mumbled something that she couldn't quite understand and went to hide behind Richie, and although Steph wasn't able to see the latter's face, she knew that he was trembling.

"You-You think this is funny?" he asked in a low voice, directing a finger right at the boy, and Steph sensed immediately that the man was angry. "You think this is some sort of _game_?" he sneered. Then he lost control and literally gripped the boy's arm forcefully. "Well, frick you! All right?!" When Steph saw that the child looked a little frightened, she panicked a little.

"Rich, let him go!" she demanded, but he seemed to not have heard her.

"_Frick you! I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU!"_ bellowed Richie as he shook the poor boy, an expression of fury layered onto his face.

The boy gave Richie a weird look as he shrugged his arm out of his hand. "'The fun's just beginning…'" he repeated, now quoting it. "The line from your act, dude. I'm a fan!"

The middle-aged man seemed to realize his mistake, looking up and pointing ahead. "Are those your parents?" he asked cautiously, seeing them coming to collect the young boy.

"Yeah," he replied in an exasperated voice.

Steph covered her mouth to quiet her giggles, and then cleared her throat as quickly as possible when she and the boy's mother locked eyes for half a second. But she couldn't hide her laughter when she heard what Richie said next.

"You want a picture?" he asked, a sign of wanting forgiveness for what he had just done.

The boy did not want to forgive him so easily, as he shook his head, that expression of surprise never leaving his face. "I think I'm good." Then his parents took him and walked away. Steph felt bad for them and wanted to apologize, but opted to not make the situation more awkward than it already was.

"Jesus, Richie, you don't remember the line from your own show?" Ben asked him, sounding more irritated than Steph had ever heard him.

"I don't write my own material," replied Richie as they walked out the main doors.

"I freaking knew it! I freaking knew it!" Eddie yelled, sounding proud of himself, making Steph laugh again.

They walked into the parking lot, Steph wringing her hands together so tightly that they would've come off if Bill hadn't given her a look of worry. It made her stop looking so tense, although her heart didn't stop racking against her ribs as Beverly dialed Stan's number on her cell phone. She shook her hands out in front of herself, a nervous habit that often happened.

When the woman on the other end of the line said, "Hello?" Steph felt her heart stop for some strange reason, and she was certain she was about to find out why.

"Hello, um, Mrs. Uris… My name's Beverly Marsh. I apologize for calling, but I'm an old friend of your husband's…"

No response. But Steph could faintly hear a gasp emanate from the cell phone. But she was robbed of knowing the reason why, since she could hear Eddie and Richie talking to Mike completely out loud.

"You lied to us," Eddie said, "that's not okay!"

"Yeah," Richie agreed, "the first words out of your mouth should have been like, 'Hey, man! You wanna come to Derry and get _murdered_?' 'Cause then I would've said no!"

Steph glared at him, gritting her teeth. "Shut up, Richard," she muttered just loud enough for him to hear her. For a moment, as their eyes locked, Richie could feel a small sense of fear inside of him. Not of It, but of Steph herself, and he remembered one thing. Steph's temper was a slowly filling glass. Normally, he didn't have a problem with her; that was until the liquid reached the top or even spilled over, then all bets were off. He was smart, because whenever this happened, he knew he shouldn't mess with her.

"Oh…" Steph turned back to Beverly when she heard the voice of Patricia Uris, and her heartbeat slowed in the worst possible way when she heard the tone of it. And then her heart sank when she heard the next two words:

"He passed."

Steph felt an emptiness in her heart, a shear of nothingness that somehow took over and held her soul. She suddenly sensed the whole weight of the world resting on her shoulders and there was nothing she could do about it. She physically and emotionally felt a hole in her heart forming, not wanting to come to the unstoppable realization. One of her best friends were dead, and she knew she couldn't do anything.

"When did it happen?" Beverly asked her, and Steph's heart sunk even lower when Patricia replied with, "Yesterday."

She buried her face in her hands, a single tear slowly coursing its way down her left cheek, which she wiped away instantaneously as her body shook for a moment. She felt Bill's hand on her back, and she wanted nothing more than to hug him, but she knew that now was not the time to feel sorry for herself; it was time for her to gain focus on the situation and figure out what to do.

"It was so horrible, the way he died," Patricia continued, fully crying now. "His wrists…"

"In the bathtub…"

Steph snapped her head to Beverly when she heard her voice these three words, and was even more disturbed when Stan's wife repeated them exactly. It was at that moment that she realized her best friend was hiding something from her, and she knew that she wasn't alone in thinking this, as she saw Ben perk up at the same time she had.

"I'm sorry, I-I have to go," Patricia finished, letting out yet another sob. Steph wiped a second tear away, sniffing as she put a hand over Bill's, which was now on her shoulder.

"W-We're all very sorry, Patty," Beverly murmured, sounding sorrowful as she said it. Patricia voiced her thanks before hanging up.

The feeling of grief hung in the air, enveloping all seven adults as they took this news very hardly; Steph had since sat down on one of the many sidewalks in the parking lot, not crying anymore, but staring at the pavement. She should've known that something had happened… Something bad, something _awful_… but she was too stupid to notice what it was. She wanted to throw things, and if it weren't for Beverly sitting down beside her after lighting a cigarette, she would've screamed right then and there.

"_Stanley!_" Eddie exclaimed. "Pennywise _knew_! He knew before _we_ did!"

"Look… we have to stop It," Mike started. "I have a plan!"

"_I_ have a plan," Richie cut him off furiously, "getting the heck out of dodge before this ends worse than one of Bill's books! Who's with me?" He raised his hand, as did Eddie.

Steph looked at Richie again, and this time, Eddie looked at her without her knowing. He saw the sadness evaporating from her eyes. Her customary sorrow gone faster than summer rain on a sunny day; she seemed to not acknowledge him, and he knew that Richie had crossed a line, he _felt_ it. Steph normally had this look whenever she was irritated or annoyed or just flat out angry with someone, but Eddie could see, could sense that she was glaring at Richie with full anger, pure rage, and it terrified him for just a split second.

"Richard Tozier," she said to get his attention, "can you just shut the heck up for one fucking second?! Mike said he has a plan and you better listen to him just as much as I am!"

Mike nodded along with what she was saying, now looking desperate. "We made a promise to each other," he pleaded.

"Let's unmake the promise!" Richie snapped.

"Shut your dang mouth, Richie! People are gonna die if we don't do anything!" Steph screamed at him, but he refused to back down this time, like he normally would when they were teenagers.

"Well, other people die _everyday_, Steph!" he screamed back. "We don't own this town _anything_! And plus, I just remembered I grew up here, like, _two hours ago_… so, I'm freaking leaving! Screw this!" He then turned around and stomped over to his car that sat in front of the building. Eddie shook his head, backing off as well. "Sorry, Mike… Steph… I'm with Richie…"

That was when Steph got up and followed Mike over to him. "Eds, please don't go…" she pleaded, her tone much softer as she spoke to him. "Don't back down from this. Do you remember how brave you were back then? I helped you with that, and I always will… You need to stay, it's important that you do."

Eddie shook his head again, turning to walk away. "Eds, please," Mike begged. This made the man turn around with his arms raised in the air.

"Listen, what? We stay, we die, that's it?" he asked skeptically. He then put his hands on Mike's shoulders, a defeated look on his face. "I'm gonna go back to the Inn, I'm gonna pack up my stuff, and then I'm gonna drive to my home. I'm sorry, man. Good luck!"

Steph ran after him and grabbed his right arm. "Please stay, Eds. Don't do this, you need to stay, you _have_ to stay! If you leave, I'm almost positive that something bad will happen!"

Eddie pulled his arm out of her hand, but pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry, Steph," he murmured as he held his best friend. "But I can't do this. You've been a great friend, and I'll always remember that, but I have to go. I'm leaving." He then pulled away, giving her a platonic kiss on the cheek. "See you around, Stephanie Denbrough."

"Eddie, no!" Steph cried out, and he jogged to his car.

"Eddie, wait!" Mike yelled, but he refused to listen, getting into his car, and both he and Richie sped away. Steph stood there for a long moment, frozen to the spot, a sob threatening to escape her throat, but she choked it down as Ben tapped her on the shoulder. She whipped her head around to face him, and he had a concerned look on his face. "You all right?" he asked.

She stared at the man that had been her best friend as a teenager, and she suddenly felt grateful for him. All those years without seeing him, and he didn't change once. This made her nod in response. "Yeah, I will be. Thanks," she replied, not smiling, but Ben could see the appreciativeness in her eyes, and he nodded to himself.

Steph then watched as he walked over to Beverly, kneeling down next to her. "You okay?" he inquired softly, and it made the woman feel gratitude because of how much he cared. But at the same time, she grew even more suspicious when Beverly ignored his question, getting up and pulling her purse onto her shoulder.

"I'm going back to the townhouse, too," Beverly informed him. "You coming?"

"Yeah," replied Ben, getting up himself. Steph instantly perked up, walking after them. "I'll go with you," she told Beverly, making her turn and glance at her for a moment.

"Okay," she said, "come on, then."

"Steph!"

She turned around and saw Bill giving her a questioning look. "You guh-gonna be alright?" he questioned, and she nodded almost instantly.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go with Beverly to the townhouse. I'll meet you there, okay?" she replied, once again sensing the tension and emotional distance between her and her husband.

Bill nodded, and she turned back around, following Beverly to her car.

* * *

The entire car ride to the townhouse was dead silent, and Steph felt a little uncomfortable. She wanted so badly to ask Beverly the question that had been printed into her mind for the past ten minutes, but she didn't want to upset her more than she already was.

It was the most tense she and Bev had ever been around one another in their entire friendship, so she was suddenly relieved when they pulled up the sidewalk in front of the building. Her best friend didn't say a single word to her as they got out of the car, Ben stopping his car seconds later. All three of them walked up to the front doors, barely hearing Eddie and Richie inside as they walked in. Steph saw them barreling up the stairs, presumably to get their bags and leave, and she rolled her eyes.

Beverly dashed for the bar and grabbed a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass. She poured the alcohol into it, and Steph scrunched her eyebrows together in worry as the red-haired woman chugged it down in one gulp. She and Ben shared a glance and they both walked into the room, sitting on the stools.

"Tell us," Steph demanded gently. Beverly gave her a confused look. "Tell you what?" she asked, feigning puzzlement. But both Steph and Ben saw through her act.

"Whatever it is you're afraid to tell us right now," Ben pleaded.

Beverly stared at both of them for about three seconds, before shaking her head. Steph wasn't letting her getting away easily, as she got up and blocked her path. "Back at the Jade, when you were on the phone with Stanley's wife, she told you that she found him in the bathtub, but… Bev... Ben and I saw you. We heard it, you said it first…"

A sudden deep sigh cut through their conversation, and Steph turned around to glare at him. "Whatever you guys are talking about," he said, "let's make it happen fast, all right? We gotta go." He then turned and looked up the stairs. "_Eduardo! Andele!_ Let's go!"

"Richie, will you shut up for one second, please?!" Steph snapped at him. She then turned back to Beverly, fixing her with a commanding look. "There's something you're not telling us. You _knew_ how Stanley died, you _knew_!"

A long moment of dead silence… broken by Richie just seconds later.

"Wait, _what?!_" he exclaimed incredulously.

"I can't do this," Beverly whispered, pushing past Steph and walking up to the front desk. She herself let Ben walk after her, as she felt it was his place to continue.

"She knew how Stanley was gonna die, is _that_ what she just said?!" Richie pressed further, now even more surprised.

"You can't just walk away from this!" Ben yelled, but Bev ignored him, tapping the bell several times. "How did you know where he killed himself?"

No answer from Beverly, and Steph started getting more desperate for an answer. "Bev, tell us!" she pleaded. "We need to know!"

"Just talk to us, like we used to!" Ben continued for her. "Come on, how did you know?!"

Beverly finally looked at Steph and Ben, her breath trembling as she mustered up the tiny amount of courage left in her to tell them. "Because I saw it," she finally said.

Steph froze, her face turning as white as chalk, knowing what she meant by that. Her eyes and mouth were wide open as she stared at her best friend, gripping the edge of the front desk.

"I've seen all of us die," Beverly whispered in conclusion.

Words left Steph. She stared downward, thinking about the five words Bev had just dropped on her, and her heart fell silent. She couldn't will her lips to move. As if stuck underwater, everything was slow and muffled as she heard Eddie thundering down the stairs, large suitcases in both hands.

"Okay, I just gotta get my toiletry bag, and we're good to go," he announced, dropping both bags on the bottom of the staircase. He then stared at Ben and Beverly, realizing that something had just went down, and he didn't know about it. But he was curious.

"What'd I miss?" he asked.

* * *

**A/N: Like I said in my author's note at the beginning, PLEASE READ THIS!**

**Well, that took a turn! Beverly had visions of them dying! :O I wasn't expecting that when I first saw the movie in theaters four months ago!**

**So, looks like Beverly's got some explaining to do lol But we'll see that in four days! MWAHAHAHAH!**

**Thoughts on this chapter? Was it great? Scary? Let me know!**

**Now, for the question! Have you guys ever heard of this movie called "The Ring?" If not, it's about this videotape where, if you watch it, you die in seven days. Well, I was thinking about writing a novelization of the 2002 film and posting it on FanFiction after this story finishes. Do you guys want me to do that? Let me know in your review!**

**Now you have to wait until Wednesday for the fifth chapter! Heheheh lol**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, which I'm sure you did! Be looking forward to the next one! As always, have a great day, and until next time!**

**\- Hermione Romanoff**


	5. The Ritual of Chüd

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS! I OD NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC!**

**A/N: Fifth. Chapter. Is. Finally. Done! This took me FOREVER to get done, so sorry if this seems rushed, even though this is the longest chapter by far!**

_**SuperSentai199: Yes it did!**_

_**Connie Hooper: OMG LOL! Thanks! And yes, Richie is almost more scared of Steph than he is of Pennywise XD**_

_** .2019: Thanks!**_

_**LostBoys453: It's about time you reviewed this! Just kidding, no pressure. Thank you, I'm so happy you love this story! And thanks for agreeing, I'll keep you updated on when that novelization is done!**_

_**Guest: OMG! lol**_

_**robinmuffins: Thanks! Glad you're excited for this one! And yes, Rest In Peace Stan... :(**_

_**Special thanks to SuperSentai199, Connie Hooper, .2019, LostBoys453, Guest, and robinmuffins for either leaving a review or favoriting/following the last chapter!**_

_**Now, without further ado, here is the fifth chapter!**_

* * *

_**Chapter Five**_

"Okay, so… what do you mean that you've seen us all die?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah, 'cause I gotta be honest, that's a messed up thing to just drop on somebody," Richie added.

"Beep freaking beep, Richie," Steph warned him as she looked at Beverly.

All five of them were in one of the front rooms of the townhouse, Steph and Beverly sitting on a chair, the former having her arm around the latter. But throughout the whole explanation Beverly had given Eddie that she had seen all of the Losers, including herself, die, Steph had been silent. Dread creeped down her spine like molasses. She felt her heart stuck — no, _lodged _— lodged in her throat; her stomach was full of lead; her feet were frozen to the ground; and her mind was numb as she heard every word.

It was especially worse considering the fact that her worst fear was losing her friends and loved ones. And hearing this confession from Beverly proved that most definitely, and it was very

_(well well well Steph it looks like you're stuck in a horrible situation just like when you were a kid but now it's worse oh yes it's much much worse)_

terrifying to listen to, but she made sure she didn't show that.

"Every night since Derry, I've… been having these nightmares…" Beverly croaked out, wiping away another tear. "People in _pain_… people _dying_… people…" She couldn't get another word out, sniffing and Steph hugged her best friend, trying her best to not cry herself.

"So you have nightmares. _I_ have nightmares," Eddie dismissed. "People… they have nightmares, but that doesn't mean that your visions are _true_!"

"Shh!" hissed Steph as she glared at her best friend. "Now isn't the time for scolding!" She then turned back to Beverly, who was now locking eyes with her.

"I've watched every single one of us…" She suddenly stopped speaking, more tears streaming down her cheeks. For a moment, Steph could've sworn that she saw a shadow of Beverly's teenage self in front of her, but it only lasted for half a second. But before she could open her mouth, a new voice entered the conversation.

"You've seen every single one of us wuh-what?"

Bill and Mike were standing in the doorway of the room, the former sitting down in another chair in front of Steph and Beverly, looking at them with a solemn expression. She couldn't really tell him what the answer to that question was, she didn't want to make him hear it. But he had to, even though she chose to stay silent.

"At the place that _Stanley _wound up," sobbed Beverly, her body shaking in Steph's arms as she rested her head on her best friend's shoulder. "That's how we end…"

Steph could see that her husband's face carried an emotion that was not shock, but rather despair at hearing this. She suddenly had a feeling, almost as if Bill _knew_ about what Beverly had told them all, and although she wanted desperately to ask him how or why, she couldn't do it.

"Okay, how come the rest of us aren't seeing that crap?" demanded Richie, who was pointing right at Beverly, making Steph send a piercing glare in his direction. "I mean, what makes _her_ so different?!"

Steph, despite how angry she was at Richie, couldn't help but shrug at his question. She didn't even know the true answer to that, and she wasn't able to reply to him, as much as she wanted to.

"The Deadlights," answered Mike.

Her eyes widened in bewilderment, turning her head in every possible direction, trying to see how everyone else reacted. They looked just as confused as she did, which assured her that she wasn't crazy. But Bill looked more shocked than the others, if not horrified.

"The Duh-_Deadlights_…" he murmured.

Steph froze, feeling as if her body had been drenched in ice cold water. She suddenly remembered a memory — a painful memory that was like a deep and horrible chapter of a book — and she did not want to see it in her head. The memory was like a nightmare, but she knew it wasn't as she took in a shaky breath and

_screamed in terror._

_Beverly was suspended in midair, eerily floating just like the dead children above all of them. She seemed to have not heard the scream that Steph had let out right then and there. And it looked like she was not coming back down anytime soon. Unless she was pulled back down._

"Bev… she was the only one of us that got c-c-caught in the Deadlights that day…" Bill confirmed, almost as if he had read Steph's mind. She shuddered at the memory, wanting it to go away and never come back. But she felt the sensation that it wouldn't.

Mike walked to the middle of the room, locking eyes with Richie for a split second. "We were all touched by It… _changed_… deep down, like an infection, or virus… A virus… Do you understand?" He looked at Steph as she nodded, letting him continue. "This virus, it's been growing for _27 years_, this whole time, metastasizing! It just got to Stan first, because —"

"He was the weakest," Richie finished for him softly. Steph glared at him furiously.

"Jesus Christ, Rich," Bill said weakly.

"I'm just saying what everyone else was thinking, man," he added, shrugging slightly. Steph scoffed at this.

"You know what, Rich? Just shut up," she snapped. "Alright?" Richie held up his hands in surrender.

"I mean, come on, Richie," Eddie added, sounding more exasperated than ever, and Steph sent him a sympathetic glance.

"What Beverly sees," Mike continued, "it _will_ come to pass! It's what'll happen to all of us eventually… unless we stop It." As he explained this, Richie walked behind the bar, resting his shoulders on the wood as Steph got up, sending a skeptical look in Mike's direction.

"Mike, just so you know, I'm on your side, but I have one question," she said gently. "How in the heck are we supposed to stop It?" All of them knew that it was the most important question to ask in that specific moment, but an influence practically spoke to her, saying that she was not going to like this. And that was confirmed when Mike spoke the following words:

"The Ritual of _Chüd_."

Steph raised her eyebrows at this response, a sour look forming on her face as she stared at her best friend in disbelief. Did he seriously just say that a _ritual_ would stop this monster that had almost killed her and her friends 27 years ago?

Yes, yes he did.

"The Shokopiwah," Mike continued. "The first ones who fought It, they were saying: 'All living things must abide by the laws of the shape they inhabit.'

"_A tribal ritual?!_" Richie blurted out. "Are you freaking kidding me, man?!"

Steph shook her head in agreement. "Yeah, sorry, Mike. I _have_ to agree with Richie this time. You're seriously suggesting that a _ritual_ is going to work?"

Mike nodded, and she scoffed in skepticism.

"Alright, there's gotta be some other way," Richie added. "This thing comes back every, what, 27 years? Let's just kick the can down the road and do it then!" This made Steph give him a look of pure annoyance and shock. "Rich, that's impossible!" she shouted.

"She's right, we'll be seventy years old by then!" Eddie barked out, agreeing with the woman.

"_None_ of us make it another twenty years…"

Steph turned at Beverly with wide eyes, her heart hammering against her chest as she heard the red-haired woman say this. She could see more tears in her eyes as she actually failed to breathe for a moment.

"The way it happens…" Beverly let out a sob as Steph rushed over to her and hugged her again. She herself finally let the tears flow, although slowly, not wanting to look vulnerable in front of the others. Bill, who could see his wife crying despite this, rubbed a hand up and down her back to comfort her.

"So, if we don't beat It this cycle, then…" Ben trailed off, and although she didn't want to say it, Steph could feel the words lingering on her tongue.

"We die…" she said before she could stop herself, covering her mouth immediately afterwards.

"_Horribly_," Eddie added.

"Yeah, I don't need the 'horribly' part," Richie told him in a monotone voice. After taking one glance at Steph, he muttered, "I'll stop now."

"Well, I didn't say it," Eddie replied before pointing to Beverly, "_she_ said it. Not me."

"Hey guys, look," Bill got their attention, and Steph and the others turned to him. "I've seen w-wuh-what he's talking about and it's a-a-a-all true… It's the only way. If we want this ritual to work…"

"We have to remember," Mike finished.

"Remember what?" Steph asked in a small voice, a voice she hadn't used in a very long time. She knew that she was starting to remember things that had happened that summer, but most of it was still blocked from her mind. All she could remember were bits and pieces, and sometimes, _they_ would disappear to the back of her mind. But she didn't know that she would recall them again. Most of them were bad things, and very little of them were good at all, but she was sure she would get to the good stuff sometime soon.

But what exactly did she need to remember? What did the others need to remember?

"It's better if I show you," Mike responded. "This cycle will end soon… and once it does…"

"We're screwed," concluded Eddie, his voice strained as he took a gasp of air from his inhaler. Steph put a hand on his shoulder as some form of support, and he secretly appreciated it. "I can't say I disagree…" she murmured.

"It's nearly midnight," Mike said, looking out the window. "We should get some sleep, but you need to be up bright and early tomorrow."

Steph nodded, hugging Beverly one more time and bidding the others goodnight before jogging up the stairs.

Just taking each step made her breathing rapid and quick. Her pulse pounding in her temples made her feel a little dizzy, her legs beginning to shake as she almost fell while opening her room door. If it weren't for Bill wrapping his arms around her waist at that moment, she was sure she would've fainted. He helped her walk over to their bed and sat her down.

"You-You want me to get you some wa-water?" he asked her, and she shook her head almost immediately. She rested a hand on his chest as she took deep breaths, closing her eyes for an agonizing moment. "I need some sleep, that's all I want, Bill," she muttered, sighing heavily as she turned away from him. He nodded, running a hand over her hair soothingly. "Do you want me to luh-leave you alone?"

Steph looked at him, her dread and sadness feeling hollow in her heart. She didn't know what was worse. A lot of the times that she was sad, there would be an emotional shell guarding her that was sometimes easy to break, but not completely; whenever it did, there would either be one or a river of tears. Other times, it would feel like her heart was made of glass, and when it was shattered, she wouldn't be able to cry.

The latter was what she was feeling right now, her eyes threatening to drown themselves in her tears, but she sniffed, wiping them away. She wasn't going to cry tonight, she could save that for later, and she looked at Bill again.

"Bill…" she whispered, "this is too much for me to handle right now…. It's not your fault, it's nobody's fault, but I just can't deal with this. Can you stay, please? Just stay, that's all I want right now…"

Her husband pulled her into his arms and hugged her, and she gripped his shirt tightly in response, refusing to let him go. She didn't want to be released from this embrace, and neither did Bill, so he carried her to the bed and they both laid down. He held her in his arms, cradling Steph's head against his chest as she finally began to calm down.

"I'll always be here… no matter what happens," promised Bill. Steph nodded her head as she finally felt sleep claim her.

_She woke up in the middle of the night in Bill's arms, feeling the urge to vomit out of nowhere. She struggled out of his hold, surprisingly not waking him up as she dashed to the bathroom, switched on the light and felt chunks of bile leave her mouth while holding the trash can. She felt as if she were there forever in the agonizing silence that followed, and it was really uncomfortable for her to handle. She eventually collapsed to the floor, heaving in huge breaths as she gasped for air. But, for some reason, she felt as if she couldn't breathe at all as she laid on the tile, shivering from the cold._

_"Steph? You o-okay?"_

_She weakly lifted her head up to see Bill standing in the doorway with a concerned look on his face. She nodded slightly, finally able to breathe again as she lowered her head to prevent the nausea from returning. Her stomach was killing her as she sat there. "Just a little sick, that's all," she replied._

_"_Oh, is poor little Steph scared?_"_

_Panic washed through Steph like a tsunami as her eyes widened to the size of saucers. She snapped her head up to see Bill still standing there, but with blood pouring from his neck as he cackled. A cackle that did not sound remotely human in the slightest._

_Steph not only felt tears forming in her eyes at the sight, but pure horror settling inside her heart as she opened her mouth and let a scream escape her lips. The scream tore through her like the blade of a knife. She could almost feel her pupils dilating as her heart thundered erratically, her brain set on fire, her blood draining from her face. She had no clue what to do about this, but she only knew that she had to get out of there. Now._

_She got up and bolted to the window. She knew one thing: distance was the only thing that mattered right now. She forced the window open and tried to crawl out, but when she was halfway close to escaping, she felt a strong hand grip her ankle, and she shrieked, yelling for help. Steph was forced to turn around and face the damn clown once again, laughing maniacally as she was easily dragged back into the bathroom. Her head slammed against the floor, and she moaned in excruciating pain._

_It stared down at her, giggling menacingly once more. "_Silly Steph… you still think you can see _me_? You'll never see me… You'll only see what your mind will allow!_"_

_Steph glared up at the demon, anger slowly replacing the terror that she was feeling. Her gasps of breath turned into calm ones. "I remember you," she told It, feeling an immense pain in her brain as she did so._

_It cocked its head at her, a disturbing grin on its face._

_"And I remember we beat you," continued Steph, gritting her teeth before saying the inevitable words: "And I'm not freaking afraid of you!"_

_It brought her closer to sniff her, and then cowered slightly, furious and even a little frightened of her. He shook his head as he waggled a finger in her face. "_You will be,_" It sneered._ "You will be when I kill your little husband and friends. Let's see how you like it when you die alone!"

_"NO!"_

Steph nearly fell off of the bed as she screamed, but she caught herself before that could happen. Bill was awake instantly, pulling her back to him, and he was shocked that she was trying to fight him. Then he saw that she was still asleep, and he put his hands on both sides of her face. "Steph, wake up! It's me!" he yelled, trying not to panic.

She jerked in his grasp, finally opening her eyes, gasping for air. She desperately searched for Bill and when she found him, she relaxed. "Oh, thank God…" she breathed out harshly. "You're not dead…" Bill could see her lips quivering as she trembled in his arms.

"Are yuh-you okay? Puh-Please tell me your okay," Bill said, his fingers finding her chin and turning her head towards him.

Steph placed a hand on Bill's chest, and sighed with relief at the feeling of his heartbeat. "God," she whispered, lowering her head for a second. "You were dead… You were It." Her voice was quiet and scared, a tone that Bill hated to hear from her.

"I'm not dead," he replied, brushing his fingers along her jaw to keep her calm. "I'm nuh-not It… I'm ruh-right here."

"Oh, my God, Bill," Steph choked out when she was certain she wouldn't cry. She knew that he would want her to talk about it, like she always did after nightmares. And, even though she didn't want to, the words left her mouth anyway.

"I had gotten up because I got sick… you came to check on me but when I looked at you, your throat was cut open and you were laughing… you turned into It and that freaking clown told me that it was going to kill you and the others… and that I would die alone… All alone."

Bill tucked a strand of tangled blonde hair behind his wife's ear. "You will _not_ duh-die alone," he told her confidently. "I'm right here, right nuh-now, with you…"

In response to this, Steph took his hand and placed a chaste kiss on it. "With me," she murmured against his warm skin. She sounded much more calm now, and Bill was now at ease.

"Yeah," he confirmed, hugging her close as her shaky breathing turned more normal in a matter of seconds after this. His wife was back; he gasped a little.

_His wife._

Steph raised her head and kissed Bill for a few seconds before breaking away. He pulled her back to him, wanting to comfort her even more, and kissed her deeply. This made her freeze for a moment, before wrapping her arms around his neck, just wanting to be held as they kissed. Somehow, and she didn't know how, her heartbeat slowed down.

They pulled away and laid back down on the bed. Steph stared at the ceiling for a long moment, almost forgetting that it was pitch black in the room.

"A-A-Are you okay now?" asked Bill, and she felt his arm draped over her stomach, which made her smile a little.

"Yeah, I am," she said, falling back asleep, resting her head against Bill's chest as she felt another kiss planted in her hair.

* * *

The entire town of Derry was eerily quiet the following morning.

Steph and Bill had gotten up early along with the others and were now walking down the main boulevard away from the town square. All of them had taken this route almost thirty years ago as kids, but now it was different since they were adults. But it somehow still felt the same.

The middle-aged woman was taking further steps down the pavement, Bill on one side, Richie on the other, Mike in front of her. All she wanted was to get this whole Ritual of _Chüd_ thing over and done with since she had already been dealing with things the night before and earlier that morning.

When Steph had woken up and gotten ready, she had the courage to open the fortune cookie she had taken the night before from the Chinese place. There was no disgusting creature or blood waiting for her inside. Instead, the slip of paper that resided in it was much more chilling, because the words printed on the paper read:

**'Have a good day! Tonight, you _die_!'**

She had shredded up the paper and thrown it in the trash before setting out with the others.

But now the event was in the back of her mind as she kept walking behind Mike, following him into the woods, the others behind her. Steph took each further step along a pathway that she vaguely recognized. It was almost as if another memory was shouting at her again, desperately wanting her to claim and remember it. She could faintly hear the recollection in the back of her mind, but for some reason, she couldn't grasp it with her subconscious fingertips.

Steph was transfixed by the beauty for the woods, the green of the leaves enveloping her eyesight as she took further steps. Her hand was linked with Bill's as she did this. The blonde-haired woman's eyes darted around the wilderness, almost as if she were afraid that she wouldn't be able to see it again.

"The Barrens," Beverly spoke up just as Steph tasted those words on her lips. They died away as soon as she thought them, but it was okay with her. She still cast glances around, in amazement of how more beautiful it was now.

"This is where we came… after the rock fight," Ben said with a grin on his face. Steph smiled even more as she looked at her best friend, the memory sinking into her mind. This was the first time she was genuinely happy since she first saw her friends again, and she wanted to cherish that.

"The clubhouse!" Richie exclaimed, and Steph gasped, that part also clicking for her. "I remember that," she told Ben, patting him on the shoulder with her free hand and they both chuckled.

"Yeah, you built that for us!" voiced Beverly with a giggle.

"Yeah, the hatch's gotta be around here somewhere," Richie said with determination laced in his voice, walking ahead of the others to see if there was any sign of said hatch. Steph was doing the same, letting go of Bill's hand.

"I _do_ remember that!" Eddie exclaimed happily.

Just then, Steph failed to notice a twig in front of her and her foot caught it. She fell forward, yelping in shock, but felt strong arms wrap around her before she could hit the ground.

"You okay, honey?" Bill asked her tentatively, and she nodded, slightly dazed from the worried look he was giving her. She didn't know why; she had been married to him for nearly twenty years. Why was she so nervous around him again? That was the thing; she had no idea.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she replied with a small smile. They stared at one another for a long moment, and that was when they both realized that they were actually being somewhat awkward around one another, something that had not happened since they were teenagers. It made them chuckle a little.

"You know what?" Ben said loudly so everyone else could hear. "I think the door was more…" He stomped on the ground gently a few times before Steph heard a crack and a grunt. She swiftly turned around in Bill's arms just as she saw Ben plummet down a hole, and sprinted for it. She knelt down, peeking inside. "Ben, are you all right?" she called down, her voice echoing slightly.

A small moment of silence.

"Found it," Ben replied.

Steph sighed with relief as she stood up.

"I'm okay! Come down!" he added, shouting for them to join him in the clubhouse.

Their clubhouse.

Steph couldn't help but smile as she allowed Beverly to climb down into the hole first, followed by Richie. Then, taking a deep breath, she turned around, raising her right foot and

_slowly but carefully took steps backwards down the ladder, following Beverly. As her feet hit the dirt floor, she took a long examining look around the room, a warm smile growing on her face as her eyes landed on Ben. She nodded to him, her short and frizzy blonde hair bouncing a little._

_"Not bad, Haystack!" she complimented him. He gave her a smile in return._

_"Thanks, Steph," he replied politely._

_Steph giggled quietly to herself as she looked around again, Richie and Bill entering the clubhouse behind her. There were wooden beams that separated the hole into large sections, even a space in the corner that was closed off from the others. She was really impressed, even sort of jealous, wishing that she was able to do something like this._

_"What the heck is this?!" Richie asked, sounding more shocked than he ever had. "How'd you build it?!"_

_This time, due to the adrenaline Steph still had after the rock fight, she laughed at Richie's remark. "Beep beep, Richie," she said despite this._

_For a split second, as his feet hit the dirt floor, Bill locked eyes with Steph, and she felt a blush kiss her cheeks like blossoming roses. She looked away with a smile as Bill asked, "_Wuh-When_ did you build it?"_

_"Here and there, I guess," Ben answered. "It was already dug out from something, so I just had to reinforce the walls… And get some wood for the roof door and that's pretty much it… Pretty good for my first time, huh?" He then put a hand on one of the wooden beams, and a part of the tin roof collapsed. Steph turned around, gasping before putting a hand on her chest. When she noticed that Bill had put a protective arm in front of her, she turned her head away to avoid his eyes, but what she didn't know was that the sudden pinkness of her face gave her away._

_"Now, _that's_ a cool feature!" Richie exclaimed sarcastically. "What happens when you put your hand on the _other_ pillar, Professor?!"_

_"Shut up, Richie," Steph told him with a small glare, before turning back to Ben. "I'm proud of you, Ben," she added with a genuine smile._

_"Thanks again," he replied._

_"Okay, you see, this is_ exactly _why there are safety codes!" Eddie yelled, smacking the side of his right hand against his left palm; this was something he did pretty often._ _"That's why we have_ permits_! This place is a_ death trap_, you understand that?!" he added, glaring at Ben._

_"Well, it's a work in progress, okay, Eddie?" Ben assured him, looking a little upset that his best friend was reacting like this._

_"Just so you know," Eddie carried on, "_I _get hurt, you are liable! And also,_ what is this_?!" He smacked something that was hanging from one of the wooden beams. "The switch of an iron maiden?"_

_"That-That's a flashlight," Ben answered for him._

_Steph rolled her eyes at Eddie's behavior, shaking her head. She understood that he was unusually hyper after the rock fight, but_ she _was at least calm about her adrenaline;_ he _wasn't._

_"Eddie, leave him alone, you should be proud!" she said, defending Ben._

_"And what is that? A horse hitch?" resumed Eddie, as if he hadn't heard her at all. "When do you have horses down -? Oh, this is cool!" He then bent down and grabbed a paddle with a ball that was attached to a string, examining it with a small smile._

_"That was, like, three dollars. So be careful with that, please?" Ben advised him._

_Eddie seemed to ignore him, bouncing the ball on the paddle. "I have one of these," he bragged. He then turned to Stan, still bouncing the ball, but right in the poor boy's face. "Hey, Stan, you see this?"_

_Stan rolled his eyes, shielding his face from the ball. "Yeah… okay, can you maybe not?" he retorted, clearly annoyed with the smaller boy._

_"Maybe not what?" Eddie teased. "Yeah, yeah… hold on… Maybe not what? Maybe not what? Be awesome and have fun and celebrate the MAGIC OF THE PADDLE BALL!"_

_Eddie was bouncing the ball way too quickly and not so gently, causing it to break off, rebounding off of the floor and falling into a crack in a wooden gate. "Oh, good going, moron! You broke his thing!" Eddie accused._

_Stan glared at him. "_I_ broke it?!" he shouted back. Eddie didn't even nod._

_"Yeah, you broke it with your_ face_!" the germaphobe added, giving him a blaming look._

_"What?" Stan looked so confused as he questioned this._

_"Okay, Eds… stop acting like this, okay?" Steph warned him, but he didn't listen to her._

_"_I'm _not putting my freaking hand down there!" he finished._

The moment that saying from a teenage Eddie Kaspbrak echoed in Steph's mind, that very same man bent down and actually plucked the ball from the paddle off of the floor. He twirled it around in his hand and blew the dust off of it, which made her smile. She herself reached out and softly caressed the now broken hammock that had once resided on the main side of the clubhouse. Even though the summer of '89 was the most traumatic three months of her life, a part of her wanted to go back to those days just to be a little kid again.

But, alas, that wouldn't be able to happen, that was just impossible.

_"Hey, Losers!"_

Steph snapped her head up into the dark space of the clubhouse at the sound of the voice. Never before had she noticed how time was almost exactly like water; it passed by extremely slowly as her heart began to race, and she even thought it froze for a few seconds. Her face turned pale as she pulled her pocket knife out of her jeans, clicking it open and pushing the others behind her.

_"Time to float!"_

The voice sounded just like It… just like that freaking clown! She felt the fear, but she stepped forward, and amazingly, she found her fearlessness. But when the figure in the shadows walked out, laughing at what he had just did to scare the other losers, Steph rolled her eyes and just barely resisted the urge to beat the life out of the person.

Freaking Richie Tozier and his jokes!

"Richie, what the heck?!" she exclaimed, closing her knife and stuffing it back in her pocket. "I could've killed you!"

"Jesus, Richie!" Bill added, accidentally slamming his head against a wooden beam, and Steph quickly pulled him out of the way so he wouldn't do it again.

"Dude!" Eddie scolded him.

"Remember when he used to say that?" Richie asked, still amused and not phased from the glare Steph sent him. "He did that little dance?" he added, eerily recreating the exact dance. "Am I the only one who remembers this stuff?"

"Are you going to be like this the entire time we're home?" Eddie asked harshly, which made Richie look at the others for support, but after glancing at Steph, his shoulders sagged. "Sorry," he muttered.

"It's all right, Rich," she replied, actually chuckling a little.

He nodded. "Okay, just trying to add some levity to this crap… I'll go kill myself," he said calmly, stuffing his hands in his pockets without a care in the world. Steph took her left hand and gently ran it along the dirt wall, not caring if the dust clung to her pores, crazily thinking it would help her remember this memory as her own this time. It was a beautiful memory she didn't want to forget, and she was sure the others didn't want to either.

"Hey, you guys?"

Steph turned to Bill, who had a big coffee can in his hands, and he was holding it out for them to see. "This says 'S-S-Stan… For the use of L-Luh-Losers ONLY,'" he told them. He then went to open the can, and everyone except for Steph looked worried as to what would be inside.

"Bill," Eddie warned him, and Steph looked at him, shaking her head as her husband opened the can. He paused for a long moment, almost as if he were hesitant, before reaching inside of it and

_pulled out a showercap, passing it to Steph. "Here you g-guh-go," Bill said kindly, and she took it from him. She looked at Stan, nodding her thanks and giving him a smile. He returned the smile as he passed the can around while Steph pulled the showercap over her head. She looked at Bill and shook her head in amusement, and he shrugged at her. The song '_Word Up!_' by_ _Cameo was playing on the radio that Steph had brought with her, but she had personally carried her Walkman and headphones along with that._

_"What the heck is_ this_?" Richie asked, making Steph look in his and Stan's direction, seeing that the former was holding one of the showercaps in his hands, a magazine in the other. Steph stifled a laugh as she heard this._

_"It's so you don't get spiders stuck in your hair when you're down here," Stan explained simply._

_"Stanley, we're not afraid of freaking spiders!" Richie retorted with a scoff, tossing the showercap to the side, making Stan stomp to the other side of the clubhouse._

_Steph and Richie locked eyes for a long moment, where the latter raised his eyebrows in defeated surprise. "I stand corrected," he confirmed._

_She chuckled at this, as well as Beverly, who was taking another drag of her cigarette. "_That's _a first," she remarked with a smirk, and turned back to help Ben fix the clubhouse to make it more homely._

_"Touché," Richie agreed, looking back at his magazine._

_"Hey, Richie!" Eddie got his attention. "Your ten minutes are up."_

_"What are talking about?" replied Richie, giving him an innocent look._

_Eddie's eyes widened in disbelief. "The hammock. Ten minutes each was the rule!"_

_"I don't see any sign," Richie said ignorantly, taking a sweeping look around the room before going back to his magazine._

_"Are you being this way right now? Really? No, no, no." Eddie shook his head, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "There wouldn't be a sign if it was a verbal agreement, and I remember you agreeing on the_ freaking _rule!" He then jumped into the hammock beside Richie, and they both grunted, fighting for their own space._

_"I can see your thing!" Richie snapped at him sarcastically._

_"Ten minutes_ each_!" Eddie screeched._

_"Get back in your stupid corner! I kissed your mom!"_

_"No, you didn't! Take that back, jerk!"_

_"Screw you!" Richie yelled._

_Steph clapped her hands together, trying to get their attention. "Boys, that's not how us Losers act! Stop it," she demanded, but they ignored her as she took her Walkman and headphones, going to the secluded space of the clubhouse and sitting on a small bench that could fit two people. She sneakily slipped the showercap off of her head, running a hand through her hair as she put her headphones on. She pressed Play on the Walkman, hearing the lyrics of '_Don't Fear the Reaper_' blast through her ears, although not too loudly._

All our times have come

Here but now they're gone

Seasons don't fear the reaper

Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain, we can be like they are

_She smiled to herself as she rested her chin in her hand, blocking out the surroundings around her. She stared into space, not really recalling what she was thinking about in that moment. She didn't acknowledge anything else, just the world of music._

Valentine is done

Here but now they're gone

Romeo and Juliet

Are together in eternity, Romeo and Juliet

40,000 men and women everyday, like Romeo and Juliet

40,000 men and women everyday, Redefine happiness

Another 40,000 coming everyday, We can be like they are

_Steph glanced up and saw Bill standing there in the entrance of the small space, and she pulled her headphones off, giving him a kind smile._

_"C-Can I juh-join you?" Bill asked shyly._

_She nodded, that smile never leaving her face. He walked inside and sat down next to her, leaving a peaceful silence between them. A silence that they both knew had to be broken soon. So, Steph decided to do it first._

_"Have the two losers compromised over the hammock problem?" she inquired, smirking and fighting off a laugh. Bill, however, actually laughed as he shrugged. "No," he answered, "they're st-st-still going at-at it…"_

_Steph indeed heard Richie and Eddie still arguing, which made her giggle quietly. At Bill's slightly wide eyes, she gave him a look of confusion. "What?"_

_He shook his head. "Nuh-Nothing," he said in a sheepish voice. "It's just… you luh-luh-look cute when you laugh…"_

_She blushed furiously as she looked down. "Thanks," she replied bashfully. "That's very sweet."_

_There was a long moment of silence as they both stared at each other. After about five seconds, Steph could've sworn that Bill was getting closer as she felt him take her hand. She inhaled a trembling breath at the realization. Was he seriously about to do what she thought he was doing?_

_Yes, she was sure he was._

_So she started leaning in as well, her heart hammering against her ribcage as she did so. Closer and closer she got…_

_"Hey, guys, we were just -"_

_Steph and Bill sprung apart quickly to see Ben looking at them with a shocked expression. She gave him a pleading look as he snapped out of his surprise. "Sorry, uh…" he said, trying to get out of this._

_She shook her head. "It's okay, Ben… Just don't tell anyone about this…" she whispered. He nodded as he left them alone again, an awkward silence hanging in the air._

_"Wuh-We should…" Bill said, gesturing to the main room._

_"Yeah," Steph breathed out, chuckling a little as they left the secluded area, the tense situation behind them now._

_"Stan, you should go with Mike to Florida," Richie suggested. "You already act 80. You'd clean up with all the grandmas." He made a kissing face which made Steph and the others laugh as she sat down next to Stan._

_"D-Do you guys think we'll still be friends… when we're older?"_

_Steph turned to the boy that asked this question, noticing that he had a worried look on his face, like he was scared of the future._

_"What?" she exclaimed in bewilderment._

_"Why wouldn't we be?" Ben asked._

_"D-Do any of your parents still hang out with their friends from middle school?" Stan added. "I mean, things might be different then… We all might be different."_

_Steph's shoulders sagged as she thought about this question, not knowing if she should answer it. She felt guilty for not pondering about this earlier, making the wise choice to stay silent._

_"We'll always still be friends," Bill answered. "I don't… I don't think that just g-g-go-goes away because we get older."_

_Steph nodded, satisfied with this answer as she gave him an appreciative smile, not blushing from embarrassment this time._

_"Yeah, Stan. Come on," Beverly added. "You don't have to be so…" She paused for a long moment, before opening her mouth to finish the sentence._

"...sad," both Steph and Beverly finished.

* * *

**A/N: You know...**

**Another cliffhanger, but not too drastic, so I know you won't hate me lol**

**Steph is about to go down more of memory lane and there will be A LOT of flashbacks here, some of which take place after the first story. I think that would be a unique idea!**

**What did you think of the nightmare scene? Were you surprised I put that in there?**

**Was the clubhouse scene as funny as it was in the film? What did you think of the transitions and the small moment between young Steph and Bill? Hope you liked it!**

**I'm sure you guys loved this chapter, but I hope you still did! Be looking forward to the next one coming out on Saturday! Once again, have a great day, and until next time!**

**\- Hermione Romanoff**


	6. How About Would You Rather?

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC!**

**A/N: Sixth chapter complete! And just in time too! This one may be a little more fast paced and slightly rushed, but I felt like it came out good enough! I hope you enjoy it anyway!**

_**robinmuffins: I'm glad they're starting to remember! I like how I did the flashbacks as well, and there will be some more in this chapter! :)**_

_**SuperSentai199: I know, poor Steph. :( And I like the clubhouse scene too!**_

_**Connie Hooper: It is really sad. And yes, Bill is so sweet to Steph! I'm so soft as well! *secretly blushes* :D**_

_** .2019: Thank you!**_

_**MissBeckyJolene: I'm glad you're enjoying this so far! Glad to see that you're hooked!**_

_**Guest: Thank you, that means a lot to me!**_

_**Special thanks to MissBeckyJolene, robinmuffins, SuperSentai199, Connie Hooper, .2019, and Guest for either leaving a review or favoriting/following the last chapter!**_

**Now, without further ado, here is the sixth chapter!**

* * *

_**Chapter Six**_

There was a comfortable silence where Steph felt like she was able to mourn the loss of Stan.

Steph had grieved several times in her life. When her mom died, she nearly gave up on life, and if Bill hadn't been there for her, she probably would've. When her father died, she wasn't even alive, but when Jamie had told her at a young age, she still respected and loved him regardless.

And now Stan.

Once he had been a boy that always gave Steph advice on things she was confused about relating to life problems. He was a person that always looked out for her and helped her, which always made her smile. He was generous, kind, and caring; Steph always adored his hugs and friendly nature. She was ashamed of herself for forgetting after she and Bill had moved away. This could not be her life right now… But it was.

"He was old before his time," Ben cut through the silence, and Steph smiled at this. She nodded to herself, staring into space as she heard the others speak.

"I wonder what he was like all grown up," Eddie reminisced, a sad expression on his face.

"Just like how he was as a kid…" Richie said solemnly, a small smile on his face. "The best…"

This made Steph sigh sadly, but she managed to keep the tears from flowing. Instead, she turned to the others, giving them a proud look. "A man with a good heart," she added, her lips twitching a little as she turned back around. She unknowingly played with a strand of her hair as she sat there, not moving, paying respect to Stan.

"Okay, Mike, what are we doing here?" Richie asked, making Steph face the man in question. She was a little surprised that he looked calmer than usual, but it made her secretly relieved.

"The ritual… to perform it… it requires a sacrifice," he answered Richie, and it was only a second before the latter spoke up again.

"A sacrifice? I nominate Eddie."

"Wait, what?!" Eddie squeaked, turning to the man with the glasses. Richie shrugged at this complaint.

"'Cause you're little, you can fit on a Barbecue," he replied with a straight face, gesturing to nothing, and both Eddie and Steph rolled their eyes.

"You really can't shut up for one second, can you, Rich?" Steph asked him dryly, shaking her head at him. He gave her an apologetic look in response.

"I'm 5'9, it's, like, the average height in most of the world," Eddie grumbled, walking over to sit by Steph and Bill. She herself was sitting on one of the chairs, fiddling with a loose string in the fabric as she looked back at Mike.

"It's not that kind of s-s-suh-sacrifice, guys," explained Bill shortly, before looking in the same direction Steph was. "Mike?" he inquired.

"The past is buried," Mike began, "but you're gonna have to dig it up. Piece by piece… these artifacts… _that's_ why we're here. _They_ are what you'll sacrifice, and since Stan isn't here to find his, I think we should all be here to find his artifact…"

Steph's heart sunk a little because Stan was brought up again, but she couldn't blame Mike. Even though Stan was dead, he was just as involved with this task as much as they themselves were. So, if that was the case, then Steph wasn't going to get too depressed over this right now. She glanced at Eddie, who had one of the showercaps on and a sad look on his face.

"I think Bill just did that," concluded Eddie, and the entire clubhouse fell silent.

A little while later, every single one of the remaining Losers climbed out of the hole, Richie helping Steph, much to her appreciation. She went to go sit by Bill on a nearby log, but for some reason, kept a questioning distance between her and him; she would never understand why she did this for the rest of her living days. She stared at the slowly drying grass for a small moment before glancing at Mike again.

"Okay, Mike, where do we find our tokens?" she asked him, genuinely curious.

"Yeah, I gotta be honest," Richie added. "With all due respect, this is freaking stupid. Alright? Why do we need tokens, right? We already remember everything! Saving Bev and Steph, defeating It... I mean… we're all caught up…"

"I don't think we are, Rich," Steph disagreed, that same feeling creeping into her mind, looking at Mike, who nodded.

"She's right," he reasoned. "That's not everything. We fought, but what happened after that? _Before_ the house on Neibolt… think…"

And Steph did just that, trying to remember what had happened after that inevitable fight between the Losers Club that day. But for some reason… nothing came to mind. It was almost like a roadblock shielding her from recalling those days. She was aware of what she had forgotten, even if she couldn't see it clearly. It was almost as if the days leading up to that were a trail of breadcrumbs, before it suddenly stopped.

"We c-c-c-c-can't remember, can we?" Bill asked in shock, sharing a look with Steph, and she nodded.

"See, there's more to our story, what happened that summer," Mike continued. "And those blank pages, like pages torn out of a book, that's what you need to find. We need to split up, you each need to find your artifact… alone… that's important… and when you do, meet me at the library tonight." For some reason, Steph didn't feel entirely comfortable with being by herself, hugging her arms to her chest in slight worry.

"Yeah, yeah… I gotta say…. Statistically speaking, looking at survival scenarios, we're gonna do much better as a group," Eddie said, instantly not liking the idea.

"Yeah," Richie agreed. "Splitting up would be dumb, man!"

Steph turned to him with an amused look on her face. "Who are you, the nerd character from _Scream_?" she asked him jokingly.

Richie gave her a puzzled look. "What's _Scream_?"

An appalled look formed on Steph's face as she heard those two words. "Oh, please!" she exclaimed. "Tell me you've at least heard of _Scream_!" At Richie's head shake, she scoffed. "Okay, if we make it out of this alive, I'm showing you that movie!"

"Sounds like a plan," Richie said cheerfully before turning back to Mike. "But still! We gotta go together, right? I mean… we were together that summer, right?"

"No," Bill answered easily, making Steph turn to him with a mildly surprised look on her face as he continued his reply. "Not that huh-huh-whole summer…"

Steph stared at the ground as she finally started to get snippets of what had happened that day, but not so clearly. But, second after second, _everything_ started seeping back into her mind as she remembered what Bill had said…

Take.

Take it.

"Take it

_back!"_

_Bill pushed Richie back; this enraged the latter, who ran forward and pushed him back. Bill made the shocking move of punching Richie in the face._

_"Bill!" Bev shouted in a warning voice. Stan and Mike helped Richie to his feet and he jumped at Bill, but they restrained him. "You're just a bunch of losers! Buzz off!" he screamed. Ben, at the same time, was restraining Bill as he tried to hit Richie again._

_"You're just a bunch of losers and you'll get yourselves killed trying to catch a freaking clown!" Richie screamed once more. The others held the two boys back as they began yelling at one another._

_"STOP IT!"_

_The boys finally backed away, only to see Steph glaring at them, crying tears of fury. "I HAVE HAD IT!" she bellowed. "Is this what y'all are gonna do?! Fight over it?! We need to work it out... We need to…"_

_But she collapsed to her knees, finally giving up and sobbing quietly to herself. Bill instantly forgot about his anger, rushing over to her and gently pulling her off of the ground, hugging her to him._

_"This is what It wants!" Beverly yelled in desperation. "It wants to divide us! We were all _together_ when we hurt It! _That's_ why we're still alive!"_

_"Yeah?" Richie scoffed. "Well, I plan to keep it that way!" He angrily walked past Bill and Steph, bumping the former as he did so; Stan and Ben followed him and went to go get their bikes. Steph began to cry even more, trying to get words out, but her voice betrayed her as she_

spared a glance down that exact street, standing on the sidewalk.

A solemn look rested on Steph's face as she ran a hand through her blonde hair. The memory of the fight was still painful to think about now that she could recall it, not completely happy with how she had reacted to what happened that day. But she couldn't blame herself; it was just a simple disagreement that got way out of hand. Obviously someone would have to step in sooner or later.

Steph began walking down the street once again, this time alone and with nobody by her side, unlike that emotional day in 1989. But she wasn't entirely upset this time, just a little paranoid and curious about remembering more of her past. As she took a long look at the houses, she came to the conclusion that things had definitely changed since she and Bill had moved away. Maybe it was a good thing, maybe it was a bad thing, she had no idea. If she could speak the truth, she would honestly never know.

Besides the different layout of the houses and the shrubbery dug up from the sidewalks, the trees still remained the same, and they were just as gorgeous as they once were. A ghost of a smile graced Steph's lips as she saw this, taking one step after the other.

A small breeze passed by, causing her to rub her hands up and down her arms as she walked. The street, although different, was entirely too familiar to her, since it was where she experienced one of the most emotional days of her life there.

Steph suddenly had the urge to return to where she had lived quite a bit of her life. She didn't know why, she was even hesitant to, but she heard a voice speak to her distantly. It sounded as if it were coming from a mile away, but she could still hear it.

_(maybe this could help me yes it could I might get my token from there)_

Before Steph knew it, she was on Kansas Street, where she had resided all those years ago. It was inevitable that she would come across her old home soon, and she couldn't bear the emotions it would bring her when she saw it again. She took deep breaths, a technique she always used to calm herself down in tense or emotional situations. She could do this… she had to… she… she

_(you can do this Steph it's just your old house you'll like the memories you need to get your token after some exploring)_

needed to.

She figured she could explore her old home when she arrived there. Yes, yes that sounded good. That was if anyone lived there at all.

That was proven to be true when Steph arrived at the front lawn. She gasped as she took in the house's appearance. Tears did not brim the corners of her eyes, instead a grin overtaking her facial features as she

_sat on the front porch swing, rocking back and forth, her guitar resting in her lap._

_The instrument was an ordinary brown, wooden, acoustic guitar. But Steph felt as if it were one of her best friends as she ran her long, slim fingers over the strings that went from thin to thick. She sighed as she checked her father's old watch. It was _2:46 PM_, and she was patiently waiting for Beverly and Bill to show up._

_It had been nearly three weeks since the Losers had their fight and had split up. To be honest, Steph wouldn't be surprised if they would be apart for good. But she at least still had Beverly and Bill by her side, which somewhat made her feel better about the whole situation._

_It was July 23rd, Steph's thirteenth birthday, and she was wearing a mustard yellow, short-sleeved dress that reached her shins past her knobby knees. Her hair was curled, no longer frizzy for at least that day, and she had no makeup on; she didn't need any and she didn't want to wear any. Jamie, who was inside and preparing an early dinner for her and her friends, didn't really mind this and was fine with whatever her only daughter wanted._

_Steph sat forward on her porch swing after she had waved at her neighbor, Emily Snell, who had always been polite to her. Emily was seventeen, a graduate of Derry High, and she would be going to the University of Maine the following month. After that day, Steph would never see her again._

_She moved her guitar to where her left hand was gripping the score, the other resting over the five strings. She took a deep breath and started strumming._

_Although she refused to admit it, Steph was an amazing guitar player, and one of her best friends would find this out in a matter of minutes. The sweet refrain of the acoustic guitar spoke a musical language to Steph's soul, and it gave her more confidence to play the instrument she had learned to play on her own. The strumming sound had a soothing quality that she craved, causing her to play more beautifully._

_This was her idea of how to spend her next several minutes before the others showed up. It was a sweet idea._

_And she finally started singing, her voice coming out at the right time and on the right vocals._

_"'_Oh, I'll twine with my mingles and waving black hair,_'" she voiced. Her voice was smooth and clear, but sort of powerful. It was breathtaking, rolling over the hills in beautiful waves as she felt the emotions in the lyrics._

_As she continued to strum the strings and sing the song, she failed to notice someone standing in her front yard with a bewildered and amazed expression on her face._

_She was lost in the song and musical notes, strumming just like June Carter had when she performed the song years ago. It sounded just like how the famous singer sang it, and it was perfect._

_"'_He's gone and neglected his pale wildwood flower…_'" she finished, playing the final chords before lifting her head up, and she raised her eyebrows, clearly embarrassed._

_Beverly was standing there with a grin on her face as she clapped happily, and her smile was one that sent a rush of warmth through Steph as she smiled back. But her small smile was a sheepish and shy one while she gently set her guitar on the porch. Beverly walked up the front porch steps and sat down beside her, still grinning at her._

_"May I say that you have the most beautiful singing voice?" she complimented. Steph giggled bashfully as she nodded her head. "Sure you can," she replied, hugging her best friend._

_"Happy birthday, little Loser," Beverly said, chuckling with happiness, and Steph smiled._

_"Thank you."_

Steph examined the house in the present, taking in its appearance.

The house was what held most of her sanity during her teenage years; that was until her mother had died and she had lived with Bill ever since. She finally remembered every square inch, the pale grey paint that covered the outside, she could see the small touches of blue that bordered the grey. She saw the white door. Oh, how she loved going up to that door and unlocking it with her house key everyday after getting home from school. Obviously, the white paint was now fresher than she had last seen it, and she didn't mind one bit. The calling of those past years had finally brought her home, and she was a little happy.

Steph walked up the front porch steps and stood in front of the door. Now, all she had to do was open that door and tell the owner that she had used to live there and then she could leave. That was it. But for some reason, she was very nervous. Nervous as to how the house owner would react to her standing on his or her porch, almost walking away.

_No, you can't do that to yourself! Be brave,_ she screamed in her mind.

Finally, after what seemed like twenty seconds, she raised her hand and shakily pressed the doorbell button.

The doorbell must have gotten a new battery recently, since the sound it cried out was much harsher than Steph had imagined it would be. _Ching! Chong!_ it rang, echoing in her ears. At that moment, she nearly sprinted off the porch and away from the house forever, but she instead remained frozen to the ground. She didn't know what to do, but she could feel a force making her stay and wait to see what would happen. So she did just that.

The door opened, and Steph saw a woman around her mid-fifties open the door. She noticed a surprised expression etching itself into the woman's face as she looked Steph over. "Hello," she greeted politely. "How may I help you?"

Steph couldn't help but smile at the woman's kind voice, nodding in response. "Yes, um… I came to Derry last night for a reunion with my friends and… I remembered that I once lived here and I thought I would see if anyone took my place…" she explained, leaving out some details.

"Oh, you once lived here?" the woman asked, a sweet smile on her face now. Steph's head bobbed up and down.

"Yes, I did… when I was a teenager… until my mother died, then I went to go live with my now husband," she answered.

"I'm so sorry, miss…" She then gave Steph a questioning look, and she knew why immediately.

"Denbrough," she finished. "That's all I really wanted to come here for. I'm sorry for bothering you, but I'll go now…"

The woman shook her head. "No, I was once in your shoes," she replied. "I just so happened to visit one of my old homes one time, and I would be ashamed if I didn't allow you to at least take a look around."

Steph's eyes widened at the offer, and she shook her head immediately. "No, you don't have to do that, I was just stopping by."

"It's the least I could do, Mrs. Denbrough," the woman convinced her further.

Finally, Steph relented and nodded. "Okay, sure. Thank you," she said shyly. She entered the house tentatively, almost as if she were afraid to ruin any inch of the place.

From the blistering sun outside, the air conditioning of the woman's house was a blessing to the skin. There was a natural softness and warmth to the house as Steph walked into the living room, just like it once was. She refused to look at the woman for a second, feeling intrusive, but not wanting to be rude.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, "but I never got your name."

"Mrs. Prescott," she told her with a warm smile. "Is it just like you remember?"

Steph shrugged a little as her eyes fell to the floor in front of the coffee table. "Not just like it, but…"

She paused, another memory hitting her mind. A timid smile formed on her face, the color pink softly brushing her cheeks as she

_hugged Bill back just as tightly, her cheeks a flaming red as their arms wrapped around each other. She rested her chin on his shoulder as they started to gently sway back and forth. Steph began to smile softly at what they were doing, but it was never a full smile._

_They swayed for almost half an hour, just lost in the different songs that kept playing… and in each other…_

Steph giggled a little as she shook her head slightly. "It kind of feels the same," she finished. She turned to Mrs. Prescott with a smile. "Lots of good memories here…"

Mrs. Prescott smiled. "Well, I can imagine," she said, clasping her hands together. "You must've had a happy childhood."

_If only she really knew,_ thought Steph solemnly as she looked around the kitchen that was connected to the living room. When her eyes landed on the entry hall, her heart stopped. Her hands balled into fists, and she didn't know why at first. She would figure out why in a few hours.

"If you don't mind," she said civilly, "I'm going to take a look at my old room. You know, just to see how it looks now."

Mrs. Prescott waved a hand nonchalantly. "By all means, go ahead! I'm sure you've got all day, feel free to." Steph gave her an appreciative smile as she nodded before turning and walking up the stairs. Her left hand trailed up the railing as she put one foot in front of the other. It felt the same, almost as if she were just getting home from school in '89. She reached the second floor, staring in the direction of the end of the hallway.

Her heart was thumping with nostalgia as she took a deep breath, taking gentle steps towards her old bedroom door. Before she knew it, she had reached it, her hand outstretched towards the golden doorknob. Her fingers wrapped around the cold metal and she couldn't help but chuckle a little.

After a few seconds, she finally opened the door and stepped back into her childhood.

Although the room was almost completely different now, she could still feel her teenage years inside of it. The pale blue walls were now white, but she liked it better that way, as it lit the room up way better. A small twin bed sat in the middle of the room, just like her old bed, and the comforters were pulled over it neatly. A desk sat in the corner and there was a bookshelf lined against the wall.

Steph smiled at the sight of the room. It looked lovely. She walked further inside, stepping over to the bed and sitting on it, running her hand feather-like over the velvet blanket. Then she felt an urge to pull out her wallet, and she did. She opened it, glancing at her license and a picture of her and Bill from their wedding before digging further through it.

She strangely found a slip of paper inside, and she plucked it out, unfolding it. It looked very old but surprisingly intact as she read the words. And while she did this, her heart raced in happiness. This was what was written on the paper:

_**Steph,**_

_**I don't think I'm going to handle spending a day without you ever again. I can't help but smile when I think about you. Falling in love with you was the greatest thing that ever happened to me, and I'm so happy that I have you in my life.**_

_**You looked like an angel today. You always do. I love you so much, my princess.**_

_**— Bill**_

Steph bit her lip as she fought the happy tears forming in her eyes. She felt her heart fluttering in her chest, just like it had the night after her and Bill's first date. It had happened after everything that summer, replacing that with a time of peace and joy. It made her gleeful just thinking about it as she stared at the faded ink that she could still see.

She folded the note back up and stuffed it in her wallet before glancing around the room again. She saw that the curtains were a baby blue color, and it was dazzling, reminding her of her teenage years again. She stood up and stared at the bed, suddenly recalling a nightmare she had had the night after the Losers' fight. It was a terrifying dream that she couldn't remember until just now, and she didn't even want to think about it now.

_It was one of the nights that Bill had snuck over to stay with her. Her mother was still gone and would be for another day afterwards, but she kind of didn't mind this. She was happy that she wasn't alone, grateful towards Bill since he had the courage to sneak out of the house because his parents really didn't care anymore._

_They had both fallen asleep in Steph's bed, holding hands just like the night before. But at some point during the night, they lost their grip. Steph was turned on her right side, hugging a part of the blankets to her body just in case she got cold. She slept soundly, at least she was for the time being. She did toss several times as if her bed were floating on a stormy sea. It took forever until she finally forced her eyes shut._

_She somehow felt movement in her sleep, and only assumed that Bill had shifted a little in the bed. She sighed, burying her face into her pillow slightly. What she didn't know was that it was a pair of claws cutting into her bedsheets._

_Steph was currently dreaming about the first battle with It at Neibolt. Although she couldn't remember the specifics of the nightmare, she was able to vividly point out Its hand turning into werewolf claws. The clown was trying to kill her and her friends, and she had blocked them from the monster with her arms. It suddenly lunged at her, and just as the claws were millimeters from her skin…_

_…she jolted awake as if prodded by an electric wire. She twisted around and stared wide-eyed at nothing. All that was in front of her was the wall. She was safe and in her bed, Bill sound asleep as he was before. She sighed to herself, pulling the blanket off of her so she could go get some water._

_She froze as she saw something peculiar in the bedsheet. She ran her fingers over it, and realized that it was cut into ribbons along its entire length._

_"Son of a gun," she murmured, jumping out of bed, her breath caught in her throat. She ran over to Bill's side and started shaking him. "Bill, wake up! Wake up, something's wrong!" she whispered harshly. But he didn't wake up. He was still breathing, so Steph didn't know why he wouldn't open his eyes._ _Then there was a giggle that emanated from downstairs._

_"Steph! Steph, help me, please!"_

_She instantly grabbed her baseball bat, raising it over her shoulder as she opened the bedroom door. She tip-toed into the hallway, making sure to be as quiet as possible. She actually didn't make any noise, appearing at the foot of the stairs, her heart sinking slowly to her stomach. Twenty feet away, advancing slowly from the kitchen, was someone that she wasn't expecting to see. Someone that nearly made her drop the wooden weapon gripped in her hands._

_"Steph, you have to help me before he gets me!"_

_It was little Georgie slowly approaching her in a yellow raincoat. She froze for the longest three seconds of her life, before she finally started backing away. Steph immediately knew that it was not Bill's little brother; he was acting beyond weird in front of her. But it made her ask the question: Why was Georgie appearing to her when Bill had clearly stated that he only appeared to him when It was around? Why her all of a sudden?_

_But, even though she didn't know the real answer to those questions, she knew that she had to get out of there and fast. She shook her head, a warning glare in her eyes._

_"Don't come any closer," she whispered severely. Her voice didn't tremble, but was rather emotionless as her right foot found the first step._

_All of a sudden, 'Georgie' came at Steph in lightning speed, his left arm transformed into a giant claw as he dived at her. She shrieked, grabbing the arm and surprisingly holding it back with the little strength she had. She screamed for Bill to help her, but she didn't see him at all. She was furiously seething as she heaved in breaths, not knowing if she exhaled at all._

_"Get the heck away from me!" she roared, trying to push him back._

_"_He's coming to get _you_, Steph,_" 'Georgie' cackled, his voice no longer human, turning back into the raspy voice of the clown. Steph grit her teeth as she tried to hold the creature back, screeching, "You're not real!"_

"Do you know what time it is, Steph?"

_"This isn't real! You're not freaking real!" she choked out, her voice now giving up on its own merit as she closed her eyes for a long moment. She was still struggling against It, but after a while, everything fell silent and she was finally able to breathe again. She sighed out of consolation, her arms losing its grip on nothing now. So, she opened her eyes again._

_She wished she didn't._

_"_TIME TO FLOAT!_" the clown bellowed at her, and she screamed._

Steph snapped out of her daze, shivering a little at the memory… the nightmare that had haunted her for several weeks afterwards.

She squeezed her eyes shut, reassuring herself as she recalled that Bill had comforted her after she awoke from the dream. She sighed, running a hand through her hair, but suddenly realized that something was in her other hand; her right one. It was sleek and metal against her skin as she lifted her hand up to see what it was. She gasped slightly, as it was something that she hadn't seen in over twenty years, because it brought back too many painful memories to count. And that was when she realized…

This was her token!

A confident smile grew on her face as she stuffed the item in her pocket before rushing to her bedroom door. She opened it, taking one last look at the room before turning back around and leaving…

She walked away from the room that held most of her childhood forever.

She jogged down the stairs and gave Mrs. Prescott a polite smile when she entered the living room to see her sitting on the couch and watching _The Office_ on the television. "Thank you for letting me tour around here again, Mrs. Prescott. I think I'm going to take my leave," she said sweetly.

"Okay, Mrs. Denbrough," she replied with a friendly smile. "I hope you have a good rest of the day!"

"You too, ma'am." Steph then walked out the front door, closing it gently behind her. She stepped down the front porch steps and walked away, and would never see her old house again.

She shoved her hands in her jean pockets, her feet hitting the sidewalk briskly, almost as if she were on a skateboard. Not that she had ever been on one before, because she hadn't. It just felt that way to her for some reason. She had a way of walking that made her seem to be in a hurry. Her steps weren't long, but they were rapid. She didn't seem to focus on that, her mind in a sedative state.

She didn't even seem to realize where she was going until she looked up at the intersection of two roads. Steph's breathing stopped for a long time when she realized that she was on Jackson Street, the very same place where _he_ had died…

Georgie…

And she was standing ten feet away from the very same storm drain that he had been dragged into. Dragged to his grotesque death. Her hands clenched into fists as she stared at it, and she knew that she had to get away from it as fast as possible. So she did just that, speed walking in the opposite direction of the drain of horrors.

About five minutes later, she found herself at a nearby park that she had used to play in as a kid. She saw numerous children ranging from 5 to 13 either chasing each other, sliding down the slides, or practically flying back and forward on the swings. A nostalgic feeling rose from inside her as she thought, _If only I could've had a real childhood like that._ It made her sulk slightly thinking about it. If her life had been perfectly normal, maybe the events from 27 years ago would've never happened at all.

She saw one of the parents, who looked like a single mother, or perhaps a widow; Steph didn't know. She had mid-length brunette hair that was perfectly straight, and for some reason, Steph had the crazy idea that it looked like her deceased mother from when she herself was a teenager.

_(this is weird you need to run and run now)_

The blonde-haired woman stood there, staring at the other woman that seemed to be a little older than her. She didn't know why she felt fear ignite inside of her, but she knew that something was wrong almost instantly. She had stopped being an idiot a long time ago, so she was suspicious right away.

The mysterious woman turned and locked eyes with Steph for a moment that seemed like an eternity. She could see her blue eyes frozen on her own gaze, and her heart shattered into millions of pieces when she recognized her.

It was her mother! But wait…. Her mother was dead, she had died almost 25 years ago. Steph felt tears in her eyes once more, tears of pain and despair, but she blinked them away almost as soon as they had showed up. She backed away from the park as her mother kept her stare pierced into her soul. She turned away, unable to look at her, knowing that it was not Jamie standing there. She was being fooled, and she knew it.

_"Don't you miss your mommy, Steph?!"_

She twisted around to see the clown standing there, that stupid looking smile on his face as he glared at her. She didn't back down or cower in horror when she saw It, instead standing her ground, refusing to be afraid. She wasn't going to show any fear to It, she wouldn't allow it. She couldn't!

_"You wish you could bring poor little Mama back, don't you?!"_ It taunted her, giggling a little before its expression turned into a mock sad one. _"I bet you hate the fact that she's in her closed casket… rotting away, no more flesh, just a dried up skeleton! Do you want me to bring her back for you?"_

Steph's face morphed into a shocked manner as she stared at the entity. What did It mean by bringing her back?!

_"Yes, you would like it if I did that, wouldn't you? Or maybe we can play a fun little game! How about Truth or Dare? That's a fun game, isn't it?"_ It continued, that demonic grin back on its face.

The woman shook her head, finally starting to back away, her heart going a million miles an hour, her hands shaking as she squeezed her eyes shut. "This isn't happening," she muttered to herself. "You're just seeing things… It isn't real."

_"Oh, I got another game we could play! How about Would You Rather? I think you would want to play that instead! Let's see… would you rather me bring your mommy dearest back… or kill little Billy Boy?"_ It mocked her.

Steph couldn't breathe anymore, her eyes widening until she couldn't open them further. "No," she whispered. "Don't you freaking dare! I won't let you touch him!"

_"Oh, so kill Billy it is! I will abide by your wishes!"_

"No, you won't, you monster!" Steph cried out, trembling from head to toe now. "I'll kill you if you lay a finger on him!"

It ignored her. _"Would you rather… me spare Billy Boy or kill all of your friends?! I think I know what you would really want, Steph…"_

"Buzz off! You're not real! I believe in a lot of things, but I don't believe in you, so get the heck out of here!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, putting her hands over her face.

All of a sudden, when she removed them, It lunged at her and she screamed, turning around and running in the complete opposite direction. She could feel her lungs burning with desperation as her feet hit the grass, pavement, and sidewalks. She was slowly running out of breath, but she didn't give a crap at the very moment. All she cared about was putting as much distance as possible between her and that freaking monster.

She didn't stop sprinting until she got back to the townhouse.

* * *

**A/N: Well, shit just got real... again... Uh-oh!**

**I was contemplating on whether or not to have the Pennywise scene in this chapter, but decided to at the last minute when I thought of this scene!**

**Did you like the small memories that Steph had? I did, especially the original ones I wrote!**

**Was the second nightmare scene great? I was inspired to write that because of Wes Craven's New Nightmare! Sorry, I'm a Freddy Kruger fan!**

**Was the Pennywise scene messed up? I felt it was, but it added more to Steph's character!**

**Now, be hyping up the next chapter that will be coming out on Wednesday! I hope you enjoyed this one, and I'm sure you loved it! I love you guys to death! Have a great day, and until next time!**

**\- Hermione Romanoff**


	7. Remembering Everything and Getting Sick

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC!**

**A/N: Seventh chapter was done last night! Just in time! :) This won't be a very long author's note on the top. I do have something to explain at the bottom one, and it regards one of the scenes!**

_**SuperSentai199: Thank you! I came up with the scene out of nowhere lol**_

_**robinmuffins: Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked the nightmare flashback and Pennywise scene! There will be a very shocking moment in this chapter! :)**_

_** .2019: Thanks!**_

_**Connie Hooper: Thank you for the kind words! And it's fine if you've been busy. I'm a teenager that has to go to high school every week lol And thanks for thinking I'm an amazing writer :D**_

_**Special thanks to SuperSentai199, robinmuffins, .2019, and Connie Hooper for leaving a review on the last chapter!**_

**Now, without further ado, here is the seventh chapter!**

* * *

_**Chapter Seven**_

She felt as if she were in a racecar as her feet hammered against the summer grass and the few dead leaves that littered the ground, the sudden cold air shocking her throat and lungs as her breathing became faster. Her heart beat frantically, all or nothing. If she failed, she would pay the price, and she knew that. So Steph ran… and ran… and ran…

At her sides, Steph's slender fingers were curled into freezing but sweaty hands, swinging forward as if it would make her faster. She realized one thing the entire time she ran: being chased was not how it was in the movies. In those films, you could tell they were acting as they sprinted away from the danger, pretending to be afraid and cowering as they tried to escape. They almost never did get away, however.

In reality, Steph didn't know if she would get away from

_(the clown)_

It or not. She kept on praying and praying in her mind, practically screaming to get away from that _thing_. All she wanted was to be back in New York, with her best friend, Audra… she wanted to go back to being happy with Bill like she had been for the past twenty-seven years. But a voice in the back of her mind demanded that she at least get somewhere safe for now.

She practically flew down the streets and sidewalks, the many houses of Derry blurring past her to where she didn't notice them at all.

When Steph finally approached Donovan Avenue, she darted up the road, making a mad dash for the front doors of the townhouse. She finally stopped, turning around and wasn't even able to sigh with relief at the fact that It wasn't following her.

She threw open one of the doors and stumbled inside, only just managing to hold on to the doorknob as she collapsed to her knees. She gasped for air, and it was almost like she was having an asthma attack, her hand clutching her chest while she crawled across the floor.

"Steph! Oh, my God, are you okay!"

Steph didn't even know who had said that to her; she felt as if she couldn't hear anything, as her ears were ringing from running so much. Nausea clawed up her throat, and she started to get light-headed. She tried to force down the bile, but it was too late.

"Oh shoot! Bev, get a trash can, quick!" she could barely hear Ben yell.

Seconds later, just as she felt the rim of a nearby trash can, chunks of the food she had digested last night left her gasping and wheezing mouth. Her stomach kept on churning violently as she forced everything out of her throat. When it was all over, her face was pale and covered in sweat. She was completely out of breath, but she was starting to finally calm down from the adrenaline. It was the worst thing she had ever felt in her life, and she had been sick before, but not like this. She wasn't even ill, but she certainly felt like it.

"Can you hear me, Steph?" came Beverly's voice, and Steph could see her waving her hand in front of her face. "Can you see or hear me?"

"Yeah," she breathed out, coughing as she did so. She put a hand to her forehead, trying to wipe the sweat away. She felt two hands grab hers and she was gently hoisted up off of the floor.

"Steph, hold on to me and Bev. We need to get you to sit down," Ben instructed her. She obliged and slowly walked over to a nearby chair, slumping down and leaning back against the welcoming cushion.

Beverly ran out of the room and was back in seconds with a glass of ice cold water. Steph took it from her with shaky hands and drank it all in one gulp before gently setting it on the table in front of her. She rested her head in her hands, knowing it was a tip to keep the nausea at bay for a least a while or for good. It worked, much to her delight.

"You wanna tell us about it?" inquired Ben in a respectful voice. She shook her head, shockingly laughing a little.

"Nah, it's stupid," she murmured. She couldn't see Beverly rolling her eyes at this answer, but she herself knew that she always refused to tell her friends things she absolutely did not want to tell them.

Beverly put a hand on her shoulder, being the person to comfort her just like Steph was the person to comfort her the night before. "I'm pretty sure it wasn't nothing. Now come on, just tell us… We know you're not crazy…"

The dread and anxiety inside of Steph deadened her mind and body, and she froze for a second. In her state of hesitance, she let out a trembling breath, closing her wary eyes hidden by her hands. Her heart ricocheted off of her chest cavity as she finally looked up at the two most caring friends she had ever had. And, parting her stable lips, she told them everything.

Beverly and Ben stayed quiet and listened to her with patient looks on their faces. Steph didn't cry, but instead explained what she had just seen as calmly as she possibly could. It was actually easy for her to not burst into tears, and when she finished, she was much more calm and relaxed than she was a few minutes ago. The sweat was gone and her heartbeat had gone back to its normal rate, her breathing like it was before. She wiped the last bit of perspiration from her right eyebrow when she finished what she was saying.

Steph closed her eyes when she was done, shuddering a little as both Beverly and Ben hugged her. She hugged them both back tightly, appreciating their presence at the current moment. She had told them that never before had she been so terrified in her life when It had threatened to kill her friends and Bill, and she admitted that this was the time she really needed them by her side the most or she was going to lose her sanity.

"You're going to be okay," promised Ben, patting her on the back. "It won't kill us…"

Little did the three know that a part of that statement would be horribly wrong.

When they all pulled away from the hug, they didn't have a second to speak when Richie suddenly came barreling through the front doors, but he looked a lot more sane than Steph had earlier.

"What in the world happened here?" he asked them when he halted in front of them. Steph shook her head a little. "Long story," she replied softly.

"What's wrong with you?" Beverly asked. Richie gasped a little before frantically shaking his own head, turning to go in the other direction.

"I'm leaving," he replied.

Steph shot up, her fear and sadness forgotten as she looked at Richie in shock. "Uh, no you're not," she demanded gently.

"Oh, and how are you gonna make me?" scoffed Richie as he turned back to her, his left foot on the first stair. "I'm sorry, but I'm done. I'm gonna pack my stuff and I'm getting the heck out of dodge. I can't do this anymore." He then turned to walk up the stairs.

Ben tried to run after him, stopping at the foot of the stairs. "You can't leave, man. We split, we all die," he pleaded. Richie barely turned back around, with a blunt expression.

When Steph saw that look on his face, a bit of nervousness creeped back into her being as she wondered what he had seen. But she ignored this as she said, "Ben's right. It's best if you stay instead of leave, Rich."

"Yeah," Richie dismissed, "I'll take my chances. We're gonna die, anyway." He then walked out of her sight.

Steph's blood froze at what he had said to her face. Richie's comment was so out of character, so far from what she knew of him, that she just stared after him, open-mouthed. She didn't even notice Ben running upstairs to follow the man with the glasses. She just walked back to the chair and sank down onto it again. She sighed, twirling a lock of her hair to put her at ease, which barely worked.

And that was how the next half an hour went: complete and utter silence between Steph and Beverly. This time, the stillness was almost unbearable for the woman, but she couldn't think of a single thing to say.

Mostly, she kept pondering through her brain about everything that was going on lately. So far, nearly all of the things that were happening were either terrifying or just straight up saddening. Barely anything in her life was happy anymore. Just when Steph thought she could finally get her life back together, fate just had to come back around and kick her. She didn't know what the destination of her near future would become, but she had a feeling that it wouldn't be anything good.

She had already gone through so much: losing her father before she was even born; the entire summer of 1989, even though it ended well; losing her mother (although she still didn't remember how); losing her memory of Derry and nearly her entire childhood; getting the phone call; losing Stan; having nightmares; It threatening the lives of her own husband and friends… pretty much _everything_.

But, had the Losers' Club not reformed after the first fight at Neibolt 27 years ago, they would have all died _then_. However, because Steph and Beverly had been taken by It, they were all reunited just like that. But Beverly had to move away from Derry to escape her abusive dad, Ben had left the following year, and when she was fifteen, Steph's own mother had passed away. She couldn't recall how exactly she had found out or had reacted to it, and she very well wished she could.

She probably couldn't place it because it had happened _after_ the Losers had first defeated It…

But there were cheerful memories to think about. She couldn't help but smile as she remembered all of them: going to the quarry during the summer; gaining more friends than she already had; becoming closer to the Losers; riding her bike with them in the streets on sunny days; hanging out in the clubhouse and playing games; listening to music on her Walkman all the time; taking pictures in the photo booth at the Aladdin theater.

And, most importantly: falling in love with Bill Denbrough.

She couldn't stop the small beam creeping onto her face at the thought of Bill. How they had made it this far together, she would never know, but she was immensely happy that they had. She wouldn't replace that horrible summer almost three decades ago for any other, because if it hadn't been for that, she may have never even realized what she was feeling for the then teenage boy.

She recollected the countless dates they had went on after that summer, especially their first one, which still made her blush now. She vaguely thought about how much he had been there for her after her mother's death, and she was still grateful for him because of that. She could vividly picture their wedding, which had been the best day of her life. And all the while, they had forgotten about the summer that had brought them together in the first place. And it really made her angry when she realized this.

Steph's thoughts were broken when she heard the front doors open again. She snapped her head up to see Eddie entering the lobby, but not once did he turn in her direction. Her expression changed from one of curiosity to disgust when she saw him covered in revolting-looking bile. "Are you okay?" she asked him out of worry.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he murmured, lying and not looking at her at all. She watched as he sped up the stairs, but he at least didn't tell her that he was leaving.

Seconds later, after Beverly followed Eddie to see if he was really alright, Bill walked through the front doors as well. Steph was relieved to see that he looked a little calmer than the others were. She put a hand to her chest, letting out a small and stable breath as he walked up to her.

"Hey, how you doing?" he asked her tentatively, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm okay," she misled, not making eye contact with him. Bill didn't question her further, although he didn't believe her, and looked up the stairs. "Where's everybody else?" he inquired.

Steph shook her head as she followed his gaze. "Richie wants to leave," she told him. "Ben's upstairs trying to get him to stay. Eddie just came back, and Bev's seeing if he's okay…"

"They're just sc-scared," Bill assured, sounding way too calm for her liking. Steph scoffed as she stared at him. "So am I, Bill," she reminded him.

Her husband turned to look at her with an empathetic gleam in his eyes. He enveloped her in a tight hug that she returned instantly. "If I could tell you what I saw earlier…" She broke off, holding back her tears; she did not want to be weak right now, but there was one thing she did need to admit. "I'm scared… We're all scared. Aren't you? That's what worries me, because that's what _It_ wants…"

"We can do this…" Bill assured her gently, pulling away to make her look directly at him. "...but we have to stick together."

"I know," whispered Steph, resting her forehead against his as he held her. They stayed that way for a long time, almost certain that they would never break the embrace. The quietness of the room was peaceful for the time being, but it was eventually broken.

"What did you s-suh-see out there?" voiced Bill, pulling back to see her if she answered him. "You don't h-h-have to tell me if you d-d-duh-don't want to," he added.

Steph took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment. She was going to be brave this time, and she was going to tell Bill the truth. "Bill…" she began. "...what happened was…"

A soft thudding sound suddenly interrupted her and both she and Bill turned their heads towards the stairs. To Steph's confusion, she saw a skateboard thudding down them, although extremely slowly. She slowly backed away, her hand latched to her husband's while she did. "Should we be running?" she suggested, and Bill shook his head.

"This is Derry," he pointed out, "I'm kinda getting used to it."

Steph nodded, finally stopping her feet and she stood still. She was beyond perplexed as she stared at the skateboard that hit the floor after a while. The object didn't move at all, and she was ever so slightly disturbed, but she didn't say anything. Bill, however, advanced forward, letting go of her hand, and grabbed a coat hanger before getting close to the skateboard.

"Be careful," Steph warned him, and he gave her a look of assurance. He then turned back to it just as the woman saw what looked like blood floating upwards from the thing. She cringed a little in repugnance, but didn't really think much of, having seen this way too many times for comfort. Bill took the coat hanger he held and tilted the skateboard so they could both see the bottom of it. At first, Steph couldn't see what was written on it, but after she squinted her eyes a little, she could read what the words said:

**'Won't be there for him either…'**

The blonde-haired woman stared at it, not knowing if the message was either directed to her or Bill. Her heart didn't even race out of fear, because she was so mystified with what was going on currently. "What does that mean?" she asked Bill as she crept closer to him.

No answer.

Bill then dropped the coat hanger onto the floor, looking as if he were going to pass out at any moment. Steph immediately ran up to him and put her hands on his shoulders to keep him from doing so. "Hey, hey," she said, "what's wrong? What is it?" Her husband didn't look at her at all, his face going pale. She then resorted to shaking him a little to get his attention, which worked. "Bill, what is it? You look like you're gonna be sick!"

"The kid…" mumbled Bill.

Steph's eyes widened a little. "What?" she breathed out.

"The kid f-f-fruh-from the… the Chinese place… I saw him on the way here," he explained shortly. "He lives in my old house!"

"What does that kid have to do with anything?" Steph inquired gently, putting a hand on her husband's face.

"He said he was going to the fair, and…" Bill suddenly stopped out of nowhere, not looking at Steph. After she looked down for a split second, he started walking around her. "He's going to the fair, I huh-have to help him."

Steph blocked him frantically. "Okay, okay," she assured him. "I'll go get Beverly, Ben, Eddie, and Richie, and we can all go together, okay, honey?"

"There's-There's no time, " Bill protested quickly. "I c-c-can't let it happen again!"

The blonde-haired woman shook her head in sympathy. "Bill, listen to me right now!" she demanded. "What happened before was _not_ your fault! Do you understand me?"

Bill gave her a look of dismissal as he sighed. "I wish that were true, Steph," he concluded before making his way around her and storming out the front doors of the townhouse.

"Bill!" Steph shouted, trying to get him to come back, but she failed.

Frustration suddenly built up inside of her and she thought she would explode. So, she took several deep breaths to keep that from happening. She wanted to yell, to have a tantrum, but she knew that it really wasn't the best idea. Her hands were clenched into fists, but she remained as serene as she could in that moment. She knew that Bill was being a complete moron by going off by himself to save a kid. She admired his selfless nature, but being alone was the worst idea at the minute.

But, instead of getting angry about it, she ran both of her hands through her hair, tugging at it to make herself calm. She didn't move from where she was standing, but she figured that it would help her.

"Bill? Steph?"

She turned back to the stairs and saw both Ben and Beverly jogging down the stairs. She walked up to them, looking a little panicked, but they at least knew that she wasn't going to freak out again. "Bill just left," she told them quietly. When she saw the shocked looks on their faces, she shook her head. "I don't know what the heck's going on, _everyone's_ leaving…"

"Hey, it's all right, okay?" convinced Ben as he patted her on the back. "It's gonna be okay… Well, at least I got Richie to stay…"

Steph nodded, turning to Beverly. "Is Eddie alright?" she inquired, and the red-haired woman shrugged at her.

"He says he is but he won't tell me what happened to him," she justified. Steph shook her head a little before looking at the two again. "I'm gonna go to my room and just cool off a little," she informed them, going past them and trudging up the stairs. She didn't hear them say anything else to her, as she blocked out everything from her mind.

When she got to her room, she slammed the door shut furiously. She then proceeded to kick the dresser in front of her before plopping down on the bed. Steph was so angry at the moment that she could throw things, but now wasn't the time to do something as irresponsible as that. She needed to control herself, even if it was difficult to do.

The stress she was feeling at the moment was a bit too much like what she felt when she couldn't get a take right while filming a scene for a movie. It was awful, and she despised it. She couldn't even put it into a coherent thought about how much she hated her life right now.

She could feel the fear in her chest waiting to take over her entire being. Steph was trying her best to refuse it every freaking second, but she felt as if she couldn't. But she needed to, because It _wanted_ her to be afraid. It wanted her to be scared so she could die faster, but she wasn't willing to let that happen. So, she focused on the good memories she had recently or in the past. There was something about them — and she didn't know what it was at the time — that evaporated that anxiety, maybe they reminded her of the fleeting happiness she once felt. She wasn't sure at all, but she felt her body begin to relax.

Steph got out her cell phone and found that she had at least ten texts from Audra and about 4 missed calls. She winced a little as she unlocked the screen and going to the messages, and saw that they were all ones that asked if she and Bill were okay.

_Of course she's worried,_ Steph thought, laughing slightly as she texted her back. She explained that everything was fine — although she kept it pretty vague — and that she just wasn't having the best day.

This led to a quick conversation between Steph and Audra through text, which was over and done with in minutes. Afterwards, the woman dropped her phone onto the bed. She ran a hand over her forehead, pinched the bridge of her nose, and sighed. She needed to rest really badly, but something told her that it wasn't a very good idea.

All was quiet in the room. _Too_ quiet.

Suddenly, during the unnatural silence that followed, a small noise disrupted it. It sounded very distant, but Steph still heard it instantly, whipping her head around and pulling out her pocket knife. She stood up from the bed and glanced around the still room. She couldn't hear anything now, but she knew that it wasn't her imagination playing tricks on her this time. The exact same thing had happened when she had her first encounter with It a lifetime ago, and wasn't going to be fooled again.

The noise happened again. In fact, it was _two_ noises; not one.

The first one was a dragging sound, almost as if someone were being pulled across a floor; the second was a laugh. A deep and throaty laugh, not like that clown's giggle. This one sounded straight up terrifying.

And both sources of the racket were coming from the bedroom's connected bathroom.

Steph was only three feet away from the bathroom door when she realized this. But, before she could move away, the door burst open and — for at least three seconds — she could see a figure towering in the opening. He had a maniacal grin on his face that was covered in sweat, his hair was slicked back to a familiar 80s hairstyle, and he appeared to be wearing clothes from a mental hospital.

But the one thing that Steph noticed instantly was this: the man had a switchblade in his hand.

"Did you miss me?!" the man growled.

Steph screamed louder than she had ever screamed in her life. The cry for help and assistance broke through her like a great big shard of glass as it echoed throughout the room. It was at that moment that a grown Henry Bowers lunged at her, slashing through the air with the switchblade. The woman bent backwards to avoid the blade, falling onto the floor in the process. She got back up quickly, however, at the exact same time Bowers swung at her again. She barely managed to dodge it by millimeters.

"EDDIE!" she bellowed. "BEVERLY, BEN, RICHIE! GUYS!"

She shrieked again when Henry knocked over one of the two lamps in the room. A chill shriveled up and made a jagged route down her spine when the man gave her the most terrifying look she had ever seen on any human being. For a split second, just like when he had attacked her all those years ago, his eyes glowed yellow.

"He says it's your time!" Bowers cackled, his smile demented as he stood there.

"SCREW YOU!" screeched Steph as she took the lamp resting on the nightstand and chucked it at Bowers. He used his left arm to block it and it cluttered to the floor. At the same time, the woman could hear banging on the door, and realized that someone couldn't get in. And that meant one thing: she was locked in the room with this fucking lunatic.

"Time to float, _Stephaniiiiieeeee!_" Henry howled as he dived at her again. This time, Steph was ready for it, jumping out of the way. She only had seconds to figure out what to do before it was too late. He wasn't going to try to kill her again! He dang well wasn't!

So, resorting to the last choice she had at the second, she rushed to the dresser, grabbed the handle of a drawer and jerked it out of where it belonged. And then, turning towards her lifelong bully, she yelled at the top of her lungs as she brought down the drawer down on his head, the wood smashing to pieces on the spot. But to her absolute horror, it didn't do any damage to Bowers. Instead, it made him angrier than she imagined he had been. Knowing he wasn't going down without a fight, Steph decided to go along with it. This made her swing at _him_ with her pocket knife.

But on the first attempt, Henry grabbed her wrist, trying to twist the knife out of her hand. She saw this, latching onto the hand with her own, trying to pry it off of her. "Let go!" she yelled furiously. When he didn't, she lowered her head and bit into the flesh of his arm. He cried out in pain and fury, but still didn't let go of her wrist. Her teeth finally came free as she screamed, "Let go, you bastard!"

Henry gave her a look that just barely managed to scare her to death. "You're gonna regret that, you stubborn freaking twat!" he snarled, raising his other hand with his switchblade and brought it down on her.

Just as the bedroom door broke open, Steph let go of Bowers, raising her arms to defend herself. And, instead of her chest, where the knife was originally targeting, the blade sliced her right forearm. She didn't even cry out in pain when she saw Eddie barrel inside and pull Henry off of her.

"Eddie, don't!" she warned him, but she was too late.

Henry suddenly swerved around and buried the knife into Eddie's cheek. Both he and Steph screamed when he did this, the latter covering her mouth to hide even more vomit. But, getting over her shock pretty quickly, Steph wrapped both her injured and uninjured arms around his neck to give Eddie time, because she knew that he had to get the blade out of his face. He cried a little bit, but more out of surprise than fear or pain.

Bowers tried to fight back against Steph, but she was surprisingly much stronger than he was as she saw Eddie gently tug the switchblade out of his left cheek. He tried his best to not show any sign of pain when he did this, and it made Steph very proud of him as she nodded to him. He then thrust his right arm forward and dug the weapon into Henry's chest like he was punching him.

All three of them froze after Steph released her arms from around Bowers's neck, her mouth dropped open in awe as the psychopath backed up. She moved out of his way and saw his wide eyes, but she didn't care. "You're still as much of an idiot as I remember," she quipped, her voice trembling as she stumbled out of the room, her hand gripped onto Eddie's arm.

"Yeah," the man agreed, "and you should cut that freaking mullet! It's been, like, _thirty_ years, man! GUYS!"

Steph put an arm around Eddie's shoulder for two reasons: so she could help him, and so she herself wouldn't pass out. When she heard a scream, she weakly lifted her head up to see Beverly and Ben hurrying up the stairs, the former's hands over her mouth. "Jesus, Eds! Steph, what the heck happened?!" exclaimed Ben in a panic.

"Henry _freaking_ Bowers!" Steph shouted with the last bit of energy she had. "_He's_ what happened!" She barely saw Ben dart past her to see what she was talking about.

"Is it bad?" asked Eddie in a little worry and that was when Steph let go of him, leaning back against the wall to catch her breath. She glanced at his wound as Beverly examined it, and saw that it wasn't as bad as it should've been but it still looked disgusting.

Steph all of a sudden went pale, her normally pink cheeks turning an ashen color. She knew immediately what was going to happen when she felt her stomach contract; she felt as if her innards were becoming a black and never ending whole. But before she managed to collapse, four words spilled from her extremely dry lips in a rush:

"I remember everything now..."

"What?" Ben, who had recently came back, asked in a worried voice.

And just as Steph saw and felt his hands grip her arms, the nausea crept from her abdomen to her head and the world went black.

* * *

_"Do you _always_ have to say the most disgusting things, Richie?" Steph exclaimed as she and the boy in question walked down the school hallway; Bill, Eddie, and Stan walked alongside the two. Bill was holding his girlfriend's hand as they strolled towards the entrance of the school._

_"Steph, my love!" Richie declared in an over the top, dramatic voice. "You've known me for seven years, you ought to know how I freaking behave by now!"_

_"B-Beep beep, Richie," Bill said in a slightly irritated voice as he squeezed Steph's hand, causing her to smile at him. His stuttering had started improving tremendously over the years. "And also, I b-b-believe that Steph is _my_ love, so back off!" He then shoved Richie playfully, causing everyone to laugh._

_Richie shot Bill a sly smile as he looked at his hand that was linked with Steph's. "Oh, I'm sorry, Big Bill. Steph is your princess, so you should defend her like the knight in shining armour that you are!" He gave the couple a bow as Steph smacked the back of his head._

_"Shut up, Richie!" Eddie yelled, although he himself was smiling. All of the teenagers laughed as they opened the entrance doors and stepped out into the beautiful Monday afternoon. Then they started joking around as Bill gave Steph a quick peck on the lips when the others weren't looking. The teenage girl gave her amazing boyfriend a grin as they walked towards their bikes, hand in hand._

_"I swear," Richie yelled enthusiastically in a teasing manner. "You two are gonna end up married after you graduate! The two little lovebirds!" He then made dramatic kissing noises, which made Steph and Bill laugh hysterically._

_"Beep beep, jerk!" Steph yelled. "Again, I can make out with him if you want us to!" She then grabbed Bill's face and gave him another kiss._

_"Okay, okay! Gross, guys! Enough PDA… Y'all can screw later," he groaned as he looked at the two._

_"Sh-Shut up, Rich!" Bill said as he looked down. Steph was also blushing as she hid her face from the others._

_All of a sudden, deafening sirens broke through the cheerful moment. Steph's head snapped up at the loud noise and she covered her ears. The other boys had also covered their ears as an ambulance and two police cars sped past the school._

_"What the heck is going on?!" Stan yelled as they saw the vehicles speeding down the street. Steph didn't say anything as her eyes followed the ambulance. Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach as she saw it turn to the street to her right. Her eyes widened in worry and dread._

_That was the corner she always turned on to head home._

_Before any of the boys could ask what was wrong, Steph jumped onto her bicycle and began pedaling faster than she ever had before. One foot after the other, she rode the bike a little fast but it was with reckless abandon. She was able to quickly catch up to the police cars that were behind the ambulance. And, sure enough, the vehicles actually did turn onto Steph's street._

_The girl's heartbeat began thumping like she had just ran a marathon. Her breathing came in and out in short, haggard gasps as she started losing air. It was almost as if she were choking on the oxygen that she was breathing in._

_Several times, Steph was almost struck by multiple cars as she chased after the two police cars. When she saw the ambulance turn into her driveway, she nearly fell off her bike in shock. She quickly sped into her yard and jumped off the bike, letting it fall to the ground._

_The teenage girl sprinted to her front door just as two police officers got out of their cars. They tried to stop her in the process._

_"Ma'am, you can't be here right now," the female officer said in an urgent tone._

_"I _live_ here!" Steph yelled at her as she threw open the front door and stepped inside. She immediately saw her neighbor standing in the entry hall, clearly crying._

_"Oh, Steph!" her neighbor exclaimed, rushing over to hug her. "I'm so sorry!"_

_The teenage girl hesitantly hugged her back, clearly bewildered. "What happened, Ms. Grogan?" she asked in a small voice. Her neighbor, who was in her late 50s pulled away and tried blinking her own tears away._

_"Sweetie," she began, "I don't know how I'm going to be able to tell you this, but… Your mother's gone… I think the tuberculosis finally got to her…"_

_Steph froze as time stopped completely. She knew that her mother's health was declining very quickly recently. Jamie had been diagnosed with tuberculosis just after Steph and Bill's one year anniversary, and the teenage girl spent less time with her boyfriend to take care of her mother._

_Bill had understood this, always coming over to her house to help her when she needed it. Steph really appreciated this, and she loved him all the more for it._

_And now… Steph didn't know how she felt at that moment… Those words kept repeating themselves in her mind like a skipping record._

_"_What?_" she asked, an appalled expression on her face._

_Ms. Grogan had a look of agony on her face as she shook her head. "I'm so sorry, sweetie," she said. "I came over to bring her some food I thought y'all would like, and… she was on the couch… I thought she was asleep… But I couldn't find a pulse… She's gone, honey… And I'm so sorry…"_

_Steph lost all ability to breathe right then and there. She subconsciously couldn't feel her heart beating in her ribcage. Her hands started shaking as she felt tears brim the corners of her eyes. All she felt was a sense of emptiness._

_Her mother was gone… Just _gone_… And Steph didn't get to tell her goodbye… She didn't get to spend a second longer with Jamie before it happened… She wasn't by her side like she should've been…_

_The nothingness that Steph felt made her collapse to her knees. Then the tears flowed. She just let it out and began sobbing quietly. This wasn't supposed to happen. She didn't _want_ it to happen. She hated — No, she _loathed_ the fact that this had to happen to her._

_She suddenly heard footsteps behind her as someone ran into the house. She didn't turn her head as she leaned back against the wall, hugging her knees to her chest and burying her face in her hands. Her body shook uncontrollably as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and pull her closer._

_Steph had a sense that she knew who this was. She just barely welcomed the embrace, but she didn't return it. The shock of the situation wouldn't let her do anything. It was like she was stuck in her own little prison, unable to break free._

_"St-Steph…" came a murmur as Steph trembled violently._

_She didn't lift her head from its position. She couldn't move, let alone speak. Bill held her tightly to him as he planted kisses into her hair, and she didn't know that tears streaming down his own face._

_"I'm so s-s-s-sorry, love," he whispered, his voice cracking. Steph finally lifted her head, although she wasn't looking at him. Hell, she didn't even notice the rest of the remaining Losers standing mere feet away from them._

_She was solely focused on the stretcher that carried a mass on it. A mass that was covered with a white sheet. And that was when Steph lost all control and did something she had never done before in her life._

_She wailed. She wailed at the top of her lungs as she jumped off of the hardwood floor and sprinted towards the stretcher. She threw the white sheet off of her mother's corpse. Ignoring the fact that Jamie indeed looked peaceful, Steph sobbed hysterically as she began screaming._

_"No! NO! **MOM!** PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!"_

"**PLEASE!**" she bellowed as she finally woke up and frantically looked around, bewildered and confused.

"Steph… Steph…" said Ben, grabbing her wrists to prevent her from moving too much, just in case she hurt herself. "Look at me, it's all over."

She was back in the lobby, lying on one of the couches that lined up against the wall. It had just been a nightmare… a memory-based nightmare that she could now vividly recall. She did as Ben said and focused on him, relieved that one of her best friends were there to calm her down. He looked scared to death, almost like he himself had been through a traumatic experience, his dull green eyes severely unsettled.

"A nightmare," Steph whispered. "It was just a nightmare."

"Yes," Ben assured her, "it wasn't real, Steph."

"But it _did_ happen. It _was_ real," gasped Steph in response, and Ben instantly realized that she wasn't lying.

"Are you okay?" asked Eddie, and Steph could see that he now had a gauze on his left cheek. His pale blue eyes were filled with concern. "You were screaming and it scared me and -"

Steph suddenly cut him off by getting off of the couch and throwing her arms around him, tears not coming but she still shook in the embrace. It was the first time she and Eddie had really hugged in so many years, so it felt welcome to her.

"I'm here, Steph," he soothed her, returning the hug just as the woman noticed a bandage wrapped around her right arm. "You're okay now."

* * *

**A/N: Read this!**

**Well, that was freakin depressing! :'( It was pretty difficult to put this in here.**

**Just so you guys know, the memory-based nightmare was originally going to be a one-shot in my story called "Bill x Steph One-Shots." I still don't know if I should put the original chapter in that document. Let me know if I should!**

**Thoughts on this chapter! Was it great?**

**Was the scene where Henry attacked Steph shocking? What about the ending of the chapter? That was just depressing as heck. :(**

**Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter like the others! If you did, LEAVE DETAILED REVIEWS! Lol Be looking forward to the next chapter! As always, have a great day, and until next time!**

**\- Hermione Romanoff**


	8. Life Flashing Before Your Eyes

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC!**

**A/N: *enters FanFiction room, singing 'The Man Behind the Mask' at the top of my lungs; sees fans watching, and immediately stops* Sorry, guys! Uh... oops... didn't see y'all there! I'm an Alice Cooper fan as well as a Jason fan, I'm sorry!**

**We have reached the second month of 2020! Happy February, everyone! I'm looking forward to Valentine's Day because I'm single and alone lol What are y'all's plans for the day of love? Mine are staying home and watching the original 'My Bloody Valentine,' because it's one of my favorite 80s slashers! And... maybe burning the Twilight movies since I hate them. :)**

**ANYWAYS, we have reached the eighth chapter. Just a forewarning, this is NOT the beginning of the final showdown! That will start next chapter. Oh, and there will be a cliffhanger, so please don't hate me! **

_**SuperSentai199: Thank you! I'm glad you didn't expect that scene, I was pretty impressed with how it turned out!**_

_**robinmuffins: I'm glad the last chapter was your favorite one! This one is a lot more intense, trust me! And there isn't even Pennywise. Oops, SPOILERS!**_

_**MissBeckyJolene: Thank you! And yes, Steph, go get your man!**_

_**Connie Hooper: I'm glad I got an emotional reaction out of people lol LET'S DO THAT AGAIN! I'm just kidding lol**_

_** .2019: It was sweet, yes.**_

_**MusicLover14: Girl, where to even begin with your reviews! THEY MEAN THE ABSOLUTE WORLD TO ME! I'm glad you love my work so much, and I keep re-reading them if I'm not in the best mood! Oh, if you wanna know my YouTube channel, it's called Adalynn's Horror World. Go watch my videos from the beginning. (I have 422 subs!) And I'm surprised I brought you to tears with my last chapter, I was shocked! And Steph and Bill do not have a kid... yet ;) Oh, and you're not gonna read my novelization of 'The Ring?' :'( I thought you were my biggest fan! Just kidding, I understand. But thank you for your amazing and motivational reviews!**_

_**Special thanks to SuperSentai199, robinmuffins, MissBeckyJolene, Connie Hooper, .2019, and MusicLover14 for leaving reviews on the last chapter!**_

**Now, without further ado, here is the eighth and intense chapter!**

* * *

_**Chapter Eight**_

The entire room had delved into silence in the fifteen minutes that followed after Steph's nightmare. Ben had explained to her that Henry Bowers got away and they had fixed her arm while she was out of it. Steph was now sitting on the couch she woke up on, staring into space. She subconsciously rubbed her fingers back and forth on the bandage she wore, her eyes blank. She was asking a lot of questions in her mind…

How in the heck did Bowers know where she and the others were? How did he break out of the asylum he was held in? Why did he specifically attack Steph? Was she the first person he went after or not?

There was one problem: she didn't know the answer to _any_ of these questions.

She had no doubt that the events that had occurred in the last fifteen minutes may have been the most terrifying moment of her life. But it was also the moment that helped her to remember everything that had happened during that summer of '89 and most of the years afterwards. In a way, she was relieved that she could recall everything now, but at the same time, she really didn't want to think about it. It was too painful to go through the memories, but she surprisingly didn't cry, but it deeply upset her regardless.

And now, the four of them were sitting in the lobby like they were when she had woken up. They were all thinking about what they should do next. It was around _8:00 PM_ and they knew that they needed to head towards the library soon to meet up with Mike. Steph, for some reason, began to worry for the man's safety, and she didn't know why at the time. She thought that something terrible would happen within the next few hours, and it gave her a bad feeling.

She was also worried about Bill; she _always_ was. He had told her that he needed to save some kid, that he was in danger, and she didn't even attempt to go after him. She didn't do this for a few reasons: one, she had no idea where the fair he was talking about was; two, she wasn't sure if It was just playing tricks on her husband or not; and three, some sort of force practically demanded that she stay. She didn't know what it was, but she listened to it.

But she couldn't ignore the horrible feeling in her gut, so she stood up from the couch, not acknowledging the confused looks that the others gave her. She grabbed the keys to her and Bill's rental car and went to the front doors, putting a hand on one of them.

"Where are you going, Steph?" came Beverly's voice from behind her. She didn't turn around, instead having her midnight blue eyes locked through the window of the door in front of her. She wasn't sure if she should tell the others about the bad sense she had deep inside of her, or just lie. But she instead made the decision to say something completely different in response.

"I'm just gonna go ahead and go to the library early…" she said calmly, although she was dishonest. "Better to get there before the others."

"You sure you wanna drive?" asked Eddie in concern. "You have a hurt arm."

Steph turned around and gave Eddie a reassuring smile. "It's just a little cut, it doesn't hurt that bad," she said soothingly. I'll be fine, Eds. You guys should start getting ready to go, too."

She then headed outside, gently pushing the doors open with all of her strength and, when she was sure she was out of sight of the others, sprinted towards the rental car. When she got to it, she jerked the door open and got inside. She quickly put the key into the ignition and started the engine. After that, she slowly pulled away from the sidewalk, and practically slammed her foot on the gas pedal, the tires squealing slightly against the road as she sped down the street.

Second by second, the sun was setting even further. Steph couldn't even see the rays of sunlight anymore as she drove, and it unnerved her terribly. The blackness at the moment was hair-rising for her, goosebumps appearing on her flesh. Darkness always meant danger to her, and that was why she hated the nighttime. It meant that something either weird or bad would happen, and that was the perception that she was aware of. She could feel something looming or creeping in the shadows when she turned onto Paramount Street.

It was a ten minute drive, but she managed to find the library. She pulled into the parking lot and screeched to a halt. She unfastened her seatbelt and threw open the car door. When she closed it, she noticed that only one other car was there, and she assumed it to be Mike's.

_Good, nobody else is here yet, _Steph thought with a sense of relief.

She fidgeted with the car keys as she slowly trekked across the pavement, her nervous heartbeat not slowing down at all. The goosebumps were gone, but the bad feeling remained; however, Steph tried to remain as casual as possible, hoping she wasn't too late. Mike needed to know what had just happened to her and Eddie, but she didn't want to make him even more worried than she was sure he was. From what she herself knew, Mike didn't know anything about what had happened.

Her mind flickered back to Henry Bowers. She shuddered.

If Bowers had attacked her earlier in the day, then that meant he had either already attacked someone else or he was waiting for his ultimate opportunity to strike at nightfall. She knew that the bully-turned-psycho was going after each member of the Losers' Club, and she now acknowledged that It was controlling him once more. She didn't know what to do, but knew that the only thing she was able to do was to just follow her instincts with whatever happened.

She got out her phone and sent a quick text to Mike, telling him that she was there, and shockingly wasn't surprised that he didn't message her back. There was no point in doing so if she was going to see him in a few seconds, anyway. She stuffed the cell phone back into her pocket as her slender fingers softly grasped the golden handle of the front door. She paused for a moment, wondering whether or not this would be a good time to enter the library. She was a little anxious, since all she heard was dead silence and nothing else. There she stood for about thirty seconds, majorly hesitating.

Suddenly, a loud roar of anger sliced through the tranquility, and Steph let out a small cry of shock. But when she realized that the sound wasn't coming from around her, her blood froze entirely.

The yell came from inside.

Steph threw open the door and tried to find out which room the scream came from, since she hadn't been in the library in so long, so she didn't know where to go. After looking around frantically for a few seconds, she heard someone speak up.

"You should've burned, Mike," the voice rumbled, and yet another roar echoed through the building.

Steph barreled into the front room of the library and discovered a horrific sight: Henry Bowers on top of Mike, about to drive his switchblade into the poor man's skull. The woman's heart kicked into overdrive, her hands shaking as she tried to figure out how to help her best friend because if she didn't do something, Mike would be dead in seconds. After several moments of searching for a weapon, she finally decided to pull out her pocket knife and she clicked it open.

She then charged over to where the two were struggling on the floor and drove her foot into Bowers's stomach. He grunted in pain but she managed to get him off of Mike. In that moment, the anger slowly building up inside of Steph was gaining like an impossible build of steam, burning her blood as she stared down at the only man that she hated, and burning her mental state. Finally, the brick walls of her subconscious shattered in an internal explosion as she snarled the words, "It's _your_ time, Bowers!"

Then, letting out a bellow of pure rage, she plunged her pocket knife deep into Henry's shoulder blade as he was getting up. He let out the most horrible howl imaginable, one that did not sit right with Steph. For some reason, it sounded completely inhuman as it was let out, and it made the blonde-haired woman cringe in disgust as she yanked the blade out of the man's skin.

Henry quickly got over the shock and glared at Steph with such intensity that it would have normally scared her shitless. But not this time; she was done being afraid, and she always would be.

When the psychopath swung at her with his switchblade, Steph easily dodged it as she quickly saw Mike trying to get up. She then slashed at him, and the blade sliced his left forearm, and he cried out for a second in pain. But what she wasn't expecting was for him to immediately kick her own knife out of her right hand. She sprinted towards the nearest table, and grabbed one of the wooden chairs. She swerved around and smashed the chair over Henry's back, and he fell to his knees in surprise. But, as she tried to go in the opposite direction, she felt a searing pain across the back of her left leg, and she let out a strangled cry.

She turned around after slumping to the floor in her shock and pain and clutched her leg, her intestines churning at the sight. Blood was slowly oozing out of the slash that Bowers had left with his knife, covering her fingers and dripping between them; a small, but relentless flow of crimson, but however, the agony was slowly fading away.

Before she was able to get up, Henry had her pinned to the floor and he had his switchblade pressed against her throat. Her life started flashing before her eyes as he gave her a demented smile.

_"Shhh… Don't worry, it'll all be over soon…" whispered the voice of Henry Bowers. Steph's eyes widened slightly for a small moment, but she also rolled her eyes. Bowers _really_ didn't know who he was messing with, was he?_

_Still, she remained within his grasp, pretending to be scared, but slowly inching her pocket knife out of her shorts at the same time. She did scream, but his hold over her mouth muffled it so no one could hear her cries of help. Steph then felt cold metal against her throat. A knife of his own. She froze, and didn't make a sound._

_"Good girl…" Henry whispered. "Now behave, and it'll be over very quickly, I promise…"_

"I should've killed you a long time ago…" Bowers snarled in her face, the knife pressing deeper against her soft skin as she grunted.

"RUN, MIKE!" she screamed, seeing that he could barely get up; he was pretty badly hurt from what she could see.

Bowers leaned in closer, almost as if he wanted her to take a good look at him before she died. She was frozen, although her hand was gripping his wrist and trying to pry the knife off of her neck. "You know what I always thought, Palmer?" he whispered.

_"What do you want, Bowers? Oh wait, scratch that! I already know what you're trying to do! I'm not as brainless as you think," she shouted at him._

_"I told you to behave, Palmer," Henry sneered. "Now, I'm gonna kill you nice and slow. If you had just stayed freaking still, I would have had it over and done with in a matter of seconds!"_

_"Yeah, well, I'm just a stubborn twat, aren't I?" Steph retorted, a tiny growl in her voice._

_"Now be a good girl, and come here," Henry demanded. And for a split second, Steph could have sworn she saw the bully's eyes glow yellow. She knew she was wasn't seeing things, and internally panicked. She now knew what she was truly dealing with._

_"_You_ come here," she snapped back, "just so you can see what I'll do to you if you come anywhere near me. I don't want any trouble, Bowers."_

_"There won't be any trouble," Bowers replied calmly before charging at her._

"I always thought you were the worst of the Losers…"

Steph could smell his disgusting and foul breath blowing against her face, and she gagged, which made him cackle. Literally _cackle_. She couldn't find the strength to pull the switchblade off of her throat and she was very close to giving up, grunting as she kept fighting back. She squeezed her eyes shut.

"Before you die, I want you to think about _everything_ you did, and _every_ word you said during the rock fight," Bowers snapped at her. "I want you to think about that before you die, you freaking twat!"

Tears welled up in Steph's eyes as she stared directly into Henry's sadistic ones. Her hammering heartbeat surprisingly slowed down, but her breathing didn't as she willed her lips to move for what she was sure would be her final time. "I hope you remember me when you go to Hell, you monster!" she croaked out.

And then she closed her eyes, her happy memories filling her mind.

* * *

_"S-So wait," Bill said, grinning for the first time in a few months. He was amused at what Steph had just told him. "Y-You stood up to the girl _and_ c-called her a t-t-t-..."_

_"Twat?" Steph finished for him. Bill nodded, still looking amused. "Yeah, I did. She deserved it, anyway, for treating her that way. _Nobody_ deserves that, not even you guys." Bill looked at her in amazement, thinking about the many times she had stood up for him and their friends. It never failed to impress him._

_"I-I guess you're the m-m-mother of the Losers' Club," he declared. Steph turned to him, grinning in appreciation at what he had just said._

* * *

_Steph's eyes widened for a moment before she rolled her eyes. So they did manage to find him. Her blood boiled when she heard this information though. "I swear, I'm gonna find that _freaking jerk_ and..."_

_Bill put his hands on her arms to calm her down. "No, you're not. Now calm down, Steph," he assured her. Steph was still angry but she didn't feel anything just weird when she felt his hands make contact with her skin. She actually felt shivers as butterflies erupted in her stomach._

* * *

_Steph looked at him for as long as he looked at her. She could feel his eyes on her and she felt her heart jump into her throat in glee but nervousness. It was like she was seeing Bill for the first time in her life. Like _really_ seeing him. And she really loved that feeling._

* * *

_"Thank you for being a great friend, Steph," Bill whispered without stuttering once. She hugged him back just as tightly, her face turning just as red as his, if not more. "It's no problem," she said softly, laying her forehead on his shoulder._

* * *

_It was a while before they made it to the Barrens that Bill and Steph both realized that they were still holding hands. Smiling and blushing furiously, they let go as they continued walking. But after a few seconds, Steph stopped him, letting the others walk ahead of them._

_"Hey, thanks for standing up for me back there. It really meant a lot to me," she said to him._

_Bill's face flushed crimson and he smiled nervously at her. "I-It's no problem, Steph," he replied. "I'd d-d-do a-anything for y-y-y-you."_

_Steph's stomach flipped in happiness as_

her thoughts were broken by a sudden and sickening hacking sound.

Time froze for a very long moment. Steph stared upwards in shock when Henry halted his movements, a look of slight surprise on his face. When she saw a slight trickle of blood forming at the corner of his mouth, she knew something had happened. Bowers grunted, and his arms fell, his head slumping forward. And that was when Steph saw what had saved her life:

A hatchet was buried deep into Bowers's head.

She shoved the dead man off of her, grunting a little from the pain in her leg. She looked up and saw Richie standing there, a look of horror on his face. Her heart swelled with pride and relief when she saw this and she was suddenly very happy to see him.

"I guess you could say that was long overdue," quipped Richie, and he seemed very short of breath. "Get it? 'Cause we're in a library…?" Then he gagged majorly, his hands clutching his stomach as he shook his head. He then turned away from Steph, lurching forward as he vomited all over the floor.

"Gross!" Steph scolded him playfully, looking away a little. "You okay, Mike?!"

"Yeah," he replied, getting up and walking over to her. He offered his hand, which she took and she was lifted up, but she had to grip the front desk so she wouldn't fall. "Sorry I didn't come to your aid," he added. She waved her hand dismissively.

"It's okay," she breathed out, shaking her head slightly. Then she looked down and saw a cut on his left arm, and she reached a hand out to him. "He got you pretty good there. You sure you're okay?" Mike nodded, and she retracted her hand from his arm.

Then the front doors burst open and Steph snapped her head in that direction, seeing Beverly and Ben run inside, Eddie close behind them. "Mike?! Steph?!" Beverly shouted, her eyes widening at the shattered glass cabinet behind the front desk. Then she saw the dead body of Henry and cried out in shock, covering her mouth. At that moment, Steph sat down at one of the tables her left leg lifted off of the floor so she wouldn't have to go through more agony.

"You okay?" asked Ben as he looked at Mike with worry.

Richie, seeming to not notice this, glared at Ben. "No, I'm not alright! I just freaking killed a guy!" he exclaimed, gesturing to Bowers's corpse.

Steph glared at him weakly, rolling her eyes as she facepalmed. Ben, seemed just as annoyed as he said, "I was talking to Mike."

Eddie dashed over to Steph, seeing her clutch her leg. "What happened to you this time?" he questioned her, pretending to be annoyed, but the woman knew he was kidding. She chuckled a little.

"He got me pretty good in the leg," she responded, lifting her pant leg and seeing the gash that rested on the skin. She saw Eddie's grimace of distaste, but he quickly recovered from it, pulling out a first aid kit he had in his jacket. "Let me help you with that," he told her, opening the package and getting to work.

He put alcohol on the wound, warning Steph first. She still hissed in pain despite this, but didn't react in any other way. He then got out gauze and placed it over the wound, taping it down as best as he could, and they were both positive that the bandage wouldn't come off anytime soon, no matter what happened.

"At least he didn't get any major veins or arteries," he assured her. "It doesn't look too bad, so you got dang lucky." Steph chuckled even more, patting him on the shoulder. "Thanks, Eds," she replied genuinely.

"No problem, Steph," replied Eddie as he got up, helping her out of the chair. Once she was sure she could walk on her leg without falling over, she let go of his arm just as Mike spoke up.

"Where's Bill?" he asked in a worried tone.

Steph perked up instantly, her eyes filled with concern as she looked at him. "I… I don't know," she admitted in a shaking voice. "He said he was going to save some kid, but… I haven't seen him since…"

Mike then pulled out his cell phone and dialed what she assumed to be Bill's number. She leaned against one of the tables, glancing down at Henry's body. _Good freaking riddance,_ she thought, raking her fingers through her long blonde hair. Beverly came and stood beside her, rubbing her hand over her shoulder soothingly. "You okay?" she asked her.

Steph shrugged. "I don't even know anymore," she told her truthfully, and Bev nodded. "I mean, first It returning, then remembering everything, Bowers attacking me, and now almost getting freaking killed by him… All of this is about to drive me insane…"

Beverly pulled her into a hug that the two of them hadn't shared in so long, and Steph was grateful that the redhead was there for her in her time of need. "You'll be okay," she assured her, "all of this will be over soon, so don't you worry."

"Thanks," Steph replied. "You guys will be okay, too. I'll make sure y'all are."

One thing she didn't notice during the few minutes that passed during Beverly's comforting of Steph was Mike talking on the phone to Bill. And just as she did hear him hang up, she felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket. She took it out and saw that it hadn't been cracked once during her fight with Bowers, which surprised her majorly. But her eyes squinted in confusion and her heart fell when she read the notification that she had gotten.

Bill had sent her a text. And her mouth dropped open at what it read: _I love you, and I'm so sorry._

"He's going to fight It _alone_," Mike said.

Steph shook her head. "No, he dang well isn't!" she snapped furiously.

"Are you kidding me?" Richie sighed, rubbing a hand over his forehead.

Mike went over to the front desk and picked up a strange object, holding it out for them to see. "The ritual doesn't work _without_ the group," he informed them. "If we do it without him, we lose."

Richie grabbed the object from Mike's hands and gave it an odd look. Mike snatched it back from him, shaking his head.

Steph walked forward, determination embedded into her eyes as she nodded. "Then we go find him," she demanded, "and we do this together."

"Wait for one second," spoke Richie. "If we're going to look for him, where the heck are we supposed to look?!"

"If Bill's going to fight It, there's only one place he'll go," Beverly pointed out, looking at the others. Steph thought about it for a long moment, thinking that Bev was right after all. When Bill had run off after the terrifying moment with the projector 27 years ago, Steph had been the first to go after him, and she knew where he was going instantly. And now, in the present, the exact same place came to mind.

"Oh, we're not gonna like this, are we?" Eddie said exasperatedly, and Steph gave him a sympathetic look.

"Probably not, Eds," she said solemnly, shaking her head. Ben nodded, shrugging slightly. "But we have to do this," he added.

Taking one more glance at the man that had almost killed her, a fire kindled in Steph's vivid blue eyes as her hands clenched into decisive fists. "Let's do this," she said.

And with that, the six of them took off down the streets on foot, Steph not even bothering to take her car as they went. She walked ahead of all the others, her hair swept back behind her as she put one foot in front of the other, not stopping once. She had a blank and set out look on her face that never faltered, not caring that the black sky above her was getting darker by the second. She wasn't going to give up, not now. The fact that Bill could be in danger at the very moment was making her more brave than ever, the courage settling inside of her heart.

Just like that day 27 years ago, she wasn't willing to let Bill do this dangerous mission alone. And she wasn't going to let him do _anything_ alone ever again. She wouldn't let it happen if she had a say in it. She loved him way too much to let that happen.

After what seemed like an eternity, Steph finally turned the corner and stepped onto Neibolt Street. Each one of her legs had a pretty good distance between them as she took each step. And there it was. The very same house that she had gone into almost thirty years ago, and a small chill ran through her when she saw how much more decrepit it looked now; it could've been completely demolished and she would still consider it creepy. But the next thing she saw made her panic.

"Bill!" she screamed as she and the other five walked through the hole in the fence that they had entered 27 years ago. But now, they were adults walking through the eerie area in the pure darkness as each second went by. The blonde woman, who was starting to feel like her thirteen-year-old self again, saw her husband standing on the broken front porch of the house. He turned to her and began shaking his head frantically in fear. But she wasn't having it.

"Bill, I thought we were in this _together_!" she exclaimed. "We're not about to let you go into that freaking house by yourself! _I'm_ especially not!" To be honest, even though she mostly felt fearlessness, she had to admit that she was a little scared; not of It, but what would happen to her husband or her friends. If they got hurt… if they got killed… She would never forgive herself and take her guilt to her grave.

She felt the presence of the rest of the remaining Losers behind her as they all stood in front of Bill. Eddie, Richie, Beverly, Ben, and Mike. And, unbeknownst to her at the time, Steph felt a little safer with them there as well. She was thankful that they had still stuck by her, even after everything that had happened to them over the past day. She had originally thought that they would flee Derry at the first inkling of something fishy happening. But, although they were all scared, they still remained, deciding that leaving would not be a smart option. She knew this as well, since she opened her mouth again to protest. Bill cut her off, however.

"I s-s-started this," he began in the most stubborn voice Steph had ever heard him use. Truth be told, it almost frightened her as she stared at him. "It's _my_ fault you guys are all here. This curse… this freaking _thing_ that's growing inside you all… it started growing the day I m-m-m-m-made you all go down to the Barrens, because all I cared about was finding G-G-G-G-G-Georgie…"

Steph noticed the sadness etched into Bill's face as he said this. She could immediately sense that he had just went through something equally as traumatic as losing his little brother. Her heart ached when she heard his voice cracking, and she wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around him and never let go. But now was not the time for that; there were more important things to do. And as her husband pointed to the house, she silently made her decision.

"Now, I'm gonna go i-i-i-in there," he continued. Steph, although secretly missing Bill's stutter, ignored it for the time being as she slowly shook her head. "And I don't know what's going to happen… but I can't ask you all to do this…"

Steph was proud of Bill for how brave he was, but she could easily tell one thing. She knew that he was also scared, although he tried not to show it. She had been married to him for twenty years; she could read him like a book. Every expression he made, or each tone of his voice was so obvious and she knew what he was feeling. And, because of this, she wasn't willing to let him go in there alone. So, ignoring the others around her, she followed him up the front steps, grabbing his hand.

"We're not asking you to, either," she whispered strongly.

"Steph—" Bill started, looking like he was about to cry. Not bearing to see him do that, she cut him off by covering his mouth with her free hand.

"Shut up," said Steph in a low voice. He nodded dumbly, allowing her to continue, although reluctantly. And she did. "I was willing to go into that house with you 27 years ago… I'm willing to go in there with you _now_. You are _not_ doing this alone. Do you understand?!"

There was a long and agonizing moment of silence. For a second, Steph didn't know what was going to happen in the span of time, and she was worried Bill would refuse her again. But, much to her relief, he finally nodded, closing his eyes, and she released her hand from his face. "Good," she finished.

"Steph's right, Bill," Mike stated. "We didn't go in there alone. We're not going to do this alone now."

The woman nodded, her eyes still locked on Bill's in a determined look. "And just like you helped me last time, I'm helping you now," she added, all the while cradling his left hand in her right one. For the third time that night, she took out the knife from her side pocket. The one Bill had given to her all those years ago.

"Losers stick _together_," Ben reminded Bill and the rest of them, Steph's statement coming full circle, the memory making her smile.

_Steph shook her head as she squeezed his hand. "Bill, remember when you said that I was never going to lose you?" He nodded. "Well, that applies to me as well. _You're_ never going to lose _me_. We're Losers, and Losers always stick _together_. Always."_

"And most importantly, _you and I_ stick together…" she murmured only to him, taking her husband's hand and raising his palm to her lips. The look he gave her in response made her want to kiss him right then and there. But, knowing that there was something they all had to finish, she just stood there. Her decision had been made. She wasn't letting the love of her life go inside by himself. And she didn't care what happened to her herself along the way.

"So… does somebody wanna say something?" Eddie asked the group, feeling awkward in the silence that followed. Steph turned back to the others, her hand latched to Bill's in a vice-like grip.

"Richie said it b-b-b-best when we were here last," Bill replied, his voice a little more confident than before. Steph glanced at him, then at Richie, thinking long and hard about what her husband had meant by that. But nothing came to mind, and it really frustrated her.

"I did?" Richie asked, sounding more confused than ever. "'I don't wanna die?'"

"Not that," Bill said, shaking his head.

"'You're lucky we're not measuring dicks?'" Richie tried again. Steph gave him an exasperated look, sighing along with the others as she rolled her eyes.

"Beep freaking beep, Tozier. Not that, either," she urged him, now remembering what he had truly said. Another long moment of silence resonated with them as the man in question stared at the ground, his gaze unwavering. But finally, he seemed to be thinking the same thing as he met hers and Bill's eyes in confirmation.

"'Let's kill this freaking clown?'" he tried one more time. Steph and Bill smirked as they nodded, determined not to let go of each other's hands as Richie's head bobbed up and down.

"Let's kill this freaking clown!"

Steph and Bill shared one last look before they all disappeared into the darkness of Neibolt house. At that moment, Steph was ready. She was prepared, a goal set in mind. She was willing to die if it ever came to that moment. She wasn't going to hesitate to sacrifice herself if she had to. All for Mike, Ben, Richie, Eddie, and Beverly…

For Stan…

For her father's soul…

For her mother's soul…

For Georgie's soul…

For Bill…

And most importantly… for Derry…

Whatever it took.

* * *

The inside was beyond repairable as the seven adults entered the house. Steph raised both of her eyebrows at the sight of the hundreds (possibly _thousands_) of cobwebs that clung to nearly every inch of the rooms, and it was practically impossible to get through them. But Steph pushed them out of her way as she also stepped over the rotting or dislodged floorboards. She noticed that parts of the floor were even gone, and it kind of creeped her out. She even smelled the decay and the mold, and she tried her best to not breathe through her mouth.

_"Don't breathe through your mouth," Richie warned them. Steph turned to him out of worry. "How come?" she said, her eyebrows scrunched together._

_"Because then you're eating it," he replied._

Steph shined a flashlight she had brought with her towards the staircase that led to the second floor, and she decided it would be better to stay away from it. She was proven right when she saw a hissing black fluid slowly trail its way down the steps, making her visibly shudder in repulsion.

"Well, I _love_ what he's done with the place," Richie said dryly, trying to bring some humor into the situation. It did not work.

"Beep beep, Richie," Steph and Beverly said simultaneously in a soft tone.

The blonde-haired woman found it weird to be in this house again, but she knew it was because of the fact that she hadn't been inside of it in over two and a half decades. But she felt that something terrible must have happened in the many years since all of them were teenagers.

They all trekked towards the kitchen, Steph and Bill's hands still linked tightly. She could still feel the presence of the others with her, but she somehow had the sense that they were drifting apart. Almost as if the group were being split up…

When they entered the kitchen, Steph let go of Bill's hand as they looked around the room. She looked in one particular spot, and shivered at the memory of a young Eddie lying against the smashed table, his arm broken all to heck. She shook her head as she looked away. She failed to notice at the moment that it was only her, Bill, Richie, and Eddie in the room.

Steph gripped her pocket knife as tightly as she could in her right hand, seeing the refrigerator that she could vividly remember, as well as every doorway. She noticed how dusty the walls looked and she could see the cracks that had broken through them, and it honestly piqued her curiosity a little bit. It made her tilt her head slightly as she stared at the aging structure.

Suddenly, a gasp of pain cut through the chilling silence. Steph rotated her head around, and she was just barely able to see Ben clutching at his stomach in agony before the door slammed shut. She gasped, afraid for her best friend's safety, as well as Beverly and Mike, who had been blocked away from her as well.

But, before she could move,

_that same glove from a few weeks ago snatched Steph by the wrist and this time, It forcefully jerked her further into the room._

She yelled as loudly as she could for the others to hear her as she was dragged by her arm down the stairs. And right as she heard Bill scream her name, the basement door thudded shut, leaving her in total darkness as she kept being pulled.

Suddenly, she hit her head on something she could not physically point out, but she was knocked unconscious.

* * *

**A/N: I know... ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER! I'm sorry, please don't hate me! I hope you don't...**

**Anyways, Steph is in trouble again! Jesus, this woman can't catch a break, can she?! She needs a happy ending lol**

**Thoughts on this chapter? Was it the scariest one? I think I terrified you guys! MWAHAHAHAH!**

**Did you guys actually think Steph was going to die for a second during her fight with Bowers? Let me know! **

**What was your reaction to her getting taken by It? Are you guys on the edge of your seat?**

**LEAVE DETAILED REVIEWS!**

**Anyways, this is where I leave! Wait until Wednesday to see what happens next. Again, I'm sorry I'm leaving you guys hanging like this...**

**Once more, have a great day, and until next time!**

**\- Hermione Romanoff**


	9. Burning the Artifacts

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC!**

**A/N: Okay... I know this is early... But I'm going to a relative's house and I won't be able to upload this tomorrow. But hey, you at least get an early upload! But, ANYWAY, new chapter! The beginning of the final act, and the ritual takes place here, but there will be... yes, I'm gonna say it... please don't cry... ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER! I'm sorry, but there is a lot of stuff going on in this chapter and I needed to end it. It won't be as drastic as some of the others, but still!**

**Forewarning: This is BY FAR the longest chapter of this story so far, so let's hope you love it!**

_**SuperSentai199: Yay, Henry's dead! Are you seriously asking who grabbed Steph?! XD Wow, you should know lol No pressure!**_

_**MissBeckyJolene: Thank you! And Happy early Birthday! :) And you will get that moment towards the beginning of the chapter.**_

_**robinmuffins: Thank you! I also felt that the tension was great! And yeah, Steph can't catch a break :(**_

_**MusicLover14: Thank you for your positive thoughts on my YouTube channel! I'm glad you enjoy it! And the fact that you're debating on whether my story or Stephen King's IT is better flatters me to no end! Oh, and if you want something related to kids, wait until the epilogue. ;) Hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

_** .2019: Thanks! And, yes, Bill and Steph have tried having kids. But in the novel, it explains that along with the curse that lingers in Derry, the Losers are unable to have children because of the influence of It. Hope that clears it up for you!**_

_**Special thanks to SuperSentai199, MissBeckyJolene, wolfsrainlover1, TrimusicaDrag00n90, robinmuffins, MusicLover14, and .2019 for either leaving a review or favoriting/following the last chapter!**_

**Now, without further ado, here is the ninth chapter!**

* * *

_**Chapter Nine**_

A sudden laugh rang through her ears, and Steph was instantly shaken back to reality. Her eyes opened, her eyelashes frantically batting against her lids when she blinked. She was leaning against a wall, a filthy, cobweb-covered wall, she realized quickly. Her face morphed into an expression of abhorrence as she struggled to get off of the floor. Her back was hurting from being flat against a brick wall for God knows how long. She let out a grunt as she finally managed to heave herself off of the ground, a million questions rushing through her head at once.

How much time had passed since she had blacked out? Was it five minutes later? Ten? Thirty? An hour? Forever? Was she hurt?

The final question was answered when she felt a throbbing pain on her right temple. She hissed in agony when this happened and her right hand immediately clutched at it out of impulse. Steph pressed her palm against her skin for a few seconds before pulling it away.

She could barely see in the very little light streaming in from a window, but she could make out the red substance of blood resting just under her ring, middle, and index fingers. It didn't look like a whole lot, but it would take several minutes to heal. Besides, it was fairly dry already.

This time, Steph didn't gag at the sight, instead wiping the palm of her hand on her jeans as she frantically began looking around. She didn't have her flashlight anymore; she had lost it when she was pulled down the stairs. And, since it was nearly pitch black in what she assumed to be the basement, she wouldn't be able to find it at all. She perked up a little, quickly scouting for her pocket knife. After a few seconds she froze, her hands stopping their search.

_Great, just freaking great! _Steph thought angrily as she loudly yelled in frustration.

Her pocket knife was gone, and she was sure she would never find it in this godforsaken place.

Another laugh emanated through the dark room, and Steph spun around multiple minutes, trying her best to point out where it was coming from. It was pointless; she couldn't see a dang thing.

She could barely hear footsteps, screaming, and what sounded like struggling coming from the floor above her. She didn't scream for help right away, instead opting to be quiet as she looked for a way out of this freaking room. To be honest, she should've just tried to call out for somebody, but she was also sure that they wouldn't hear her if she tried. She squeezed her eyes shut in concentration, her heartbeat still as normal as it was when she had woken up.

_"Steph… Want to come float with us?"_

The woman jumped at the sudden voice, swiftly turning around and pressing her back against the wall. What she saw interested her, but it didn't make the situation any better. In fact, it only made it much worse.

The clown was standing in front of her. And Steph knew that there was nothing creepier than a person or thing with emotions that certainly did not match the situation. It looked way too happy for knowing something bad was happening, that dang sinister grin planted onto its face as It stared at her with its unnaturally golden eyes.

The blonde-haired woman didn't react at all to Its drastic appearance, instead remaining frozen to the spot as the demon let out yet another spine-chilling laugh. Her eyes were wide, alert, and aware as she kept them focused on the clown, not backing down from what she knew to be something terrible.

_"You'll float down here with your friends, Stephanie, we all float down here, tell Bill that Georgie says hello, tell Bill that Georgie misses him but he'll see him soon, tell him -"_

"Shut the heck up!" Steph screamed at It abruptly. "You're not freaking real and you never will be! You've messed with the wrong kids, you monster!"

Its expression transformed into one of pure rage when she said this. _"I am _eternal_, child!"_ It spat at her. _"I am the Eater of Worlds and of _children_!"_

Steph scoffed. "Yeah? That so? Well, tonight's the night you die, twat!"

It then flew at her before she could get the chance to run, grabbing her by the throat and refusing her ability to move. It cackled as it shook her roughly, making her choke a little under the gloves that squeezed against her esophagus. It was very obvious that the creature was messing with her, seasoning her to be more of a delicious target due to fear. But the problem for It was that she wasn't scared at all. Just a little worried as to what would possibly happen next.

The clown seemed to sense her concern, the grin growing wider on Its face when it happened. _"Tonight's the night your friends die, you brat!"_ It growled._ "Be afraid! FEAR ME!"_

"Screw you! I've never been afraid of you, and I will never be! You can't make me fear you!" Steph choked back, her eyes full of hatred and malice. This made the demon holding her by the throat let her go, and she saw, much to her horror, his golden eyes slowly change into a deep and vivid ruby color. And as she watched this, she could feel the sweat dripping from her pores to drench her skin, and she could sense a feeling of pure hopelessness ignite in her as her mouth was frozen agape. But she found the motivation to break away from Its clutches when she heard banging coming from the basement door.

"Steph! Steph, are you down there?!" came a voice, one that the woman could not distinctly recognize at the moment.

_"You're going to pay for that, Steph! You're just a spoiled little brat, you deserve to suffer! I'm going to kill Billy Boy and the others one by one,_ nice and slow_…"_ It dragged out, its voice coming out in a hissing drip as It bared its sharp teeth at Steph. _"And then you will be_ next_!"_

As Steph ran up the stairs towards the voices of her friends, she kept thinking, _It's not real! It's not real! It's not real! It's not real! It's not real!_ And she swerved her head back to the entity with a stare of bravery in her eyes. "Go to Hell, you stupid clown! I won't let you freaking touch them! _Ever!_" she yelled furiously, and then started pounding on the door. "BILL! BEV! RICHIE! ANYONE! OPEN THE DOOR!"

Almost immediately, a shout came from the other side. It was Richie's voice. "Steph! Steph, are you okay?!"

She didn't get the chance to answer, since she heard a soft chuckle waft into her ears when she opened her mouth to speak. It was then followed by a low whisper that terrified Steph: _"Stephanie, Stephanie, Stephanie… you can't fight us… you'll die if you try… die if you try… die if you try… Steph… Steph… Steph… eph-eph-eph…"_

Her name was echoed in her mind, making her quiver as she twisted the doorknob. She slammed her hand against the wooden door. "SHOOT!" she bellowed.

Trapped. She was stuck in the basement with this demonic entity. No way out. She tried to pull the doorknob as fast as she could, but she couldn't. She wasn't able to, and she screamed in fury, pounding on the door as she could feel the hits against it from the others on the opposite side. For a moment, she was so scared that her heart missed a beat as it finally started going a million miles an hour. She felt like she was doomed, she was going to die a horrible death.

_"Steph!"_

She didn't turn around for a long time, refusing to be fooled. It wasn't real, it was freaking fake, so she made the smart decision and didn't move from where she was, her hands still fastened on the doorknob.

"Steph, turn around, it isn't real."

The woman turned around stupidly, her eyes squinting in confusion when she saw Bill standing at the bottom of the stairs, his arms open. But she saw his pale and sunken skin and stayed right where she was. "Come here, I'll pr-pr-protect you," Bill said, his tone unusually soft and sincere.

"NO!" Steph snarled, her scowl unwavering and frozen on her face as she stood there.

The gentle look on 'Bill's' face fell, replaced with a look of repulsion. _"No?"_ It retorted, a grimace on its face. _"I see how it is, you disgusting little wretch!"_

Suddenly, 'Bill' was impaled and lifted up into the air, blood pouring from the body's torso, which made Steph turn back around and bang on the door even more. And, just as she did, it finally opened and she tumbled through the doorway and onto the floor. Immediately, all of the others had their arms around her as she wheezed and darted her eyes around.

"Tell me you guys are real," she muttered. "Dang it, tell me you guys are real!"

"We're real, we're real, don't worry!" yelled Richie as he tried to comfort her. Bill then knelt down and placed his hands on both of Steph's cheeks, making her look at him. "Richie's right, wuh-we're real," he assured her, cradling her face. "You're o-o-okay now, you're okay…"

But she wasn't anywhere close to being okay, since a second later, she felt a hand slam down against her ankle.

_"Where are you going, Steph? I just wanna play! COME BACK AND PLAY WITH PENNYWISE!"_ It roared, tugging her away from the others.

As Steph screamed at the top of her lungs, the other six adults gripped her arm very tightly so she wouldn't get taken again. Her screams turned into grunts as she was being tugged back and forth between It and her friends. "DO SOMETHING!" she bellowed, her hand latched on as many arms as she could hold on to. This time, she was pulled even more fiercely, making her start kicking at the demon, her free right foot flying in all directions.

Suddenly, one of the hands holding onto her let go, making her more desperate to break free from the clutches of It. But it was slowly proving to be useless, since she was about to tell the others to let go and get out, even opening her mouth to say this as she struggled. But, before she could speak, something amazing happened.

Bill came into her view, holding an old kitchen knife in his right hand and a look of rage on his face. He brought down the weapon and it met what seemed to be flesh and it made a satisfying squish as the tip of the blade sank deep enough to make It scream. "Let her go, you freaking monster!" he yelled without stuttering. For a moment, Steph wasn't even sure if her husband was the same person at all, but she felt a swell of pride and love for him. She watched him pull the knife out and bury it back into the shoulder of the clown. _"LET GO OF HER!"_ Bill screamed.

Eventually, after what seemed like ages, Its grip started to slacken, giving Steph an advantage. She raised her right foot and kicked the entity in the face, letting out a shriek of fury as she did so. And It finally let go, disappearing down the stairs and she plopped to the floor, her feet slightly dangling over the basement steps. She took deep breaths as Bill helped her up, tossing the knife to the side. He hugged her so tightly that she would have normally told him to let her breathe, but she didn't care right now. She was practically pressed against him, and she didn't let go, especially when she felt his hands trail up and down her back as a way to comfort her.

"You're okay, right?" Bill asked in a panicked voice, pulling back to look at her. "It d-d-duh-didn't hurt you, did It?" Steph shook her head as she looked down, but she made eye contact with Bill seconds later. "I'm okay," she whispered. "I'm fine." She stared at him for several seconds, resting her right hand on his cheek, and she felt her heart slow down to a calming rate once more.

"So, are you two just gonna stand there all night or are we gonna finish this?"

Steph turned around to look at Richie, knowing it was not the time to be ticked off at him. "Let's just go and get this over with," she sighed, gesturing for the others to walk ahead of her and Bill, and they all began to make their way down the basement stairs. The woman was sure to stay collected as she put one foot in front of the other, looking at Bill again. He took her right hand and brought it up to his lips, just like she had done earlier. He covered her fingers with tentative kisses, and her heart jumped slightly; all she wanted in that moment was to pull him to her and kiss him until the end of time. But she couldn't, so she stayed where she was.

Bill pulled away, taking her hand and resting it on his face, locking his bright blue eyes onto her midnight blue ones. "If we live through this, I'll do anything for you," he murmured so only she could hear it. She nodded without hesitation, pulling her hand back, but attaching it to his left one.

They stepped up to the well that sat in the middle of the basement, where the others already were. Steph looked down into the black abyss, catching glance of the rope that she had assumed the others had used to descend the same well 27 years prior. She put her left hand on the stone that had built the structure, running her fingers along the dust that covered it. "Well, I guess there's only one way to get down there," she said quietly, but the others heard her, nodding along with her statement.

That was what led to the seven of them grabbing the rope and they slowly lowered themselves down the dark well, Steph having Bill's flashlight around her neck in the process. She was sure to keep a tight grip on the rough fabric of the rope, already feeling the loose strings poke her skin fiercely as she grabbed each part; she didn't want to get a rope burn, because she knew they hurt like heck. Luckily for her, she didn't.

Steph found a tunnel a portion of the way down the well and saw that some of the others were already waiting for her and Bill in there. She carefully stretched out her right foot and it hit solid ground, much to her relief. She then extended a hand out for one of them to grab, and Richie was the one to do that, gently pulling her into the tunnel. A few seconds later, Bill followed suit, both Steph and Eddie grabbing his hand and pulling him into the passageway.

Just like 27 years ago, the Losers had to be slouched forward as they trudged along the dirty corridors. Steph's hand was locked with Bill's again when the reached the end of the tunnel they journeyed through. She looked downward and saw the disgusting water in the sewers that waited for her, but she jumped out of the passageway, her feet splashing the dirty liquid, making her face scrunch up in slight repulsion, but she kept going.

"Ugh, greywater," Eddie complained, wading through the said substance that was getting ever deeper as they went along. Steph didn't say anything in reply as she saw another opening in the sewer pipe, the water coming up to her breasts and it was almost as if she could swim in it. Of course, that would be the last thing she'd do. As she reached the opening, she looked up and saw a place that looked very familiar; realizing this, she took in a shallow gasp just as Ben spoke up.

"Oh shoot," Ben whispered. "This is where It happened…"

Steph was realizing this, too, as she suddenly remember when she

_turned and snatched the bolt gun out of Bill's hands. She marched right up to the creature and pressed it up to Its forehead as It continued to smile at them._

_"_KILL IT, STEPH!_" they all bellowed. They kept screaming for the teenage girl to pull the trigger as her hand began shaking. One voice stood out above the rest._

_"It's not loaded!" Mike yelled. "Steph, it's not loaded!"_

_Steph's eyes widened at this information, quickly lowering the bolt gun to check and see if it were true. But before she could look, Bill snatched the gun back from her, pressed it to Its forehead, and pulled the trigger instantly._

_Surprisingly, it actually seemed to work on the demon, who began screaming in pain and anger as a hole formed in Its head. Then, Steph jumped on top of It, her arms wrapped around the creature's neck. She screamed in fury as the others began to grab a hold of It as well._

Steph shook her head, snapping herself out of her own memory as she looked around, wading closer to what looked like a smaller pile of toys than before. She started slowly climbing onto it, Ben now behind her as a way to keep her from being taken again. She knew this, and couldn't help but be proud of the man that she called her best friend. She then grabbed Mike's hand and was pulled onto the pile, Bill very close behind her. Steph could hear Eddie muttering to himself as garbage drifted past him in the water.

"Bev, what is it?"

She suddenly turned her head back in the direction of Ben and Beverly, seeing the latter pointing her flashlight in the opposite direction. She couldn't see her moving for only a second and she was aware that the others were on high alert as well. But, much to Steph's relief, Bev turned back around. "I thought I heard something," the redhead said to everyone, shrugging slightly.

Out of nowhere, a ghoulish creature leapt about ten feet out of the water, making every single one of the adults scream, especially Beverly, who the monster grabbed.

"Beverly!" Ben screamed, trying to get closer to her, but it was too late. Beverly was in Its clutches, just like Steph was minutes earlier. But just as she opened her mouth to lure the entity away from the others, it opened its mouth in an expression of glee.

_"TIME TO SINK!"_ It screamed in a sneering voice before pushing Beverly under the sewer water. There was not even a second to spare before Steph saw Mike, Richie, and Bill join Ben and the four dived in after the only other woman of the group. She herself tried to go after them as well, but a hand on her uninjured arm kept her from doing so. She tried to tug out of Eddie's grasp, but he refused to let her go.

"Don't. Just stay here," Eddie demanded, and she instantly realized why he was doing this. She had almost died minutes ago, and she could tell that he didn't want her to go through something like that again. So, reluctantly, she stayed where she was, her arm still being clutched in Eddie's hand. She tried to keep herself calm about the situation, thinking that the others would come back soon; they had to, or else she wouldn't live with herself. She didn't even know how long she thought this. It could've been a minute, ten, forty, or even a whole eternity, she didn't really know.

"Guys?!" Eddie called out, and Steph could hear the worry embedded into his voice as he said it. She scanned every inch of the water, the only thing she could hear being bubbles, making her concern rise drastically. She grasped Eddie's hand, not only to comfort him, but to keep herself from freaking out. Where was Beverly? Ben? Mike? Richie? Bill? Oh, God… where the heck was Bill?!

Steph shook slightly as she stared down into the water. "Guys, come on," pleaded Eddie, and he sounded like he was about to cry. "Guys, please don't leave us… please."

Just then, all five of them finally emerged from the water, gasping for air. "Oh, thank God," Eddie whispered harshly, and Steph patted him on the shoulder for being strong. She could hear the others talking amongst themselves in a panic, Ben having Beverly in his arms as this happened. She then saw Bill climb onto the surface towards her, and she immediately grabbed a hold of him, pulling him to her and pressing her lips fiercely against his. He held her flush against him once again as they stayed that way for a long moment before eventually pulling away.

"Never _ever_ do that to me again, do you hear me?!" she begged, a sob threatening to escape her throat. Bill gently leaned his forehead on hers as he nodded, a serious look in his eyes while he caressed her left cheekbone.

"Mike, where do we go from here?"

Richie had asked that question, making Steph look around Bill to the man in question, still not letting go of her husband. Mike walked up to them, looking downward as he did so. Steph followed his gaze and saw a wooden floorboard on the mound she was standing on with a circular shape in the middle. She and the others all stood around it, and she noticed a strange, somewhat symbolic marking etched into it. She tried to figure out what it meant but, alas, she had no idea what it was.

Mike stared down at the hinge, murmuring to herself, and Steph could barely hear him, but she seemed slightly worried. And so did the others.

"Is he okay?" Ben asked, sounding slightly taken aback at Mike's behavior.

"I think, at this point, that's a pretty valid question," commented Richie.

Steph, ignoring the slight banter, looked up at Mike. "What's on the other side?" she asked him softly, knowing that everyone else besides her wanted to know that exact answer. But, Mike gave them none except for this:

"I don't know. No one does."

Steph gulped a little as Mike squatted down and grabbed the edge, making the others step back. She was a little spooked, a little worried that something would jump out at them, because there was nothing but a hole that led straight down. To her elation, however, she could see more ground at least ten feet below. She saw Mike crawl over to where he was directly above the hole, and she gave him a look that said, "Be careful." He nodded and looked at the others.

"See you down there," he said, moving his arms up as he jumped down. Steph instinctively grabbed his arms despite this so he wouldn't fall. There was no point, really; he turned out to be perfectly okay. He was crawling down bit by bit, using rocks that were poking out from the sides as his source. Much to Steph's surprise, Bill went next, crouching over the hole, but looked at her for a second and then at the others.

"S-Stuh-Stick together," he reminded them, looking Steph in the eye and giving her another kiss before making his way feet first into the hole. The blonde-haired woman decided to follow him, getting ready to climb down herself. But she couldn't help but look up at the last second, and she saw something that confused her.

Eddie was shaking his head from side to side, and Steph could see the genuine fear written all over his face. Her heart sank slightly in sympathy as she watched him.

"You guys, I can't," he began. "I can't, you _saw_ what happened up there before we saved Steph. I was gonna let you die…" He was pointing at Richie when he said that. "You can't let me go down there with you, I'm gonna get us all killed…" He then got his inhaler from his left pocket and he brought it up to his mouth, taking gasps of air through it.

Richie then furiously stomped up to him and grabbed at the inhaler, leading to a tug of war between them that lasted for about five seconds. Richie ended up winning, jerking the inhaler out of Eddie's hands, and he gave him a serious look.

"Listen to me," he demanded, and Eddie did. "You had a moment. Fine, but who killed a psychotic clown before he was fourteen?"

Eddie thought about his answer for a moment or two as Steph watched in amazement.

"Me," he answered hesitantly. Richie nodded confidently.

"Who stabbed Bowers with a knife he pulled out of his own face?" he pressed further.

"_Also_ me," Eddie sighed, crossing his arms.

"Who married a woman ten times his own body mass?"

There was a pregnant pause between the two as Eddie eyed Richie with slight annoyance. But he finally opened his mouth after several long seconds to answer his question.

"_Me._"

"Exactly," Richie said. "You're braver than you think."

"I agree with him," Steph spoke up with a small smile. "I mean… come on, Eds. You saved my life, and you don't know just how proud I am of you. Never forget that."

Eddie nodded, looking a lot more calm. "Alright…. Thanks, Rich. Thanks, Steph," he said, and the woman nodded with another smile before beginning her descend down the hole.

After several seconds, she reached the bottom, her feet hitting the ground, and she quickly moved out of the way when she saw Richie about to drop down after her. She ducked down and soon had to get on her knees and crawl over to where Bill and Mike were trying to get through a narrow opening. The latter was already halfway through the tiny hole when she reached them, her flashlight dangling in every which direction. Bill turned around and saw her, and he moved so he could let her in front of him. "Go on," he whispered to her, and she obliged, asking no questions.

"It's in here," Bill told the others behind them. "It's tight, but we can get through."

Steph placed her hands in front of her and carefully pulled herself through, trying not to hit her head against the sharp and jagged rocks. And, slowly but surely, she managed to get through and stood up. She reached her hand out to Bill, and he took it, letting her pull him through the hole. They both got up and followed Mike through a tunnel-like passage into a room that made Steph's jaw drop.

It was a dome-like sort of room, and it was massive. It was bigger than the area she and the others had been in before above them. The main structure of the room was a circle of branches that seemed almost alien-like, and they were scaly black. Steph walked up to it and touched them, recoiling a little at the freezing nature and at the fact that they almost looked like fingers. She was amazed but terrified at the same time, her eyes wide in curiosity.

"So all of this has been under Derry since… _forever?_" asked Eddie in awe as he looked everywhere, his headlamp illuminating the area.

"Not forever…" Mike answered. "...just a few million years." He then went to the middle of the alien structure, unzipping his bag after setting it on the ground. He then pulled out the same strange object from the library. Steph could now tell it was some sort of ancient vase, apparently years and years old, and she could see some drawings or pictures on each side. They were telling her how they were supposed to do this.

"It can only be attacked in its true form," Mike informed them. "The ritual will show us that."

"What is Its true form?" wondered Ben.

"I hope it's a puppy," Richie remarked, and Steph raised her eyebrows at him, a glare not in her eyes this time. "Pomeranian," he continued, and then he saw Steph's expression. "I'll shut up…"

"It's like… light that must be blocked out by darkness," explained Mike shortly. He then grabbed a bottle of lighter fluid from his bag and poured a heavy amount into the vase. Lighting a match afterwards, he dropped it inside, creating a fire instantly and the flames flickered and licked the rim of the top. Mike then stood up and looked at all of them.

"Your artifacts…" he told them. "Place them into the fire… the past must burn with the present."

Everyone then proceeded to pull objects out of their pockets. Steph hesitated slightly before shakily reaching towards her front pocket right after she had put her hair up into a ponytail. She dug her hand in her pocket and pulled out her token, holding it delicately in her right hand and running her left index finger over it. She couldn't stop the tears brimming the corners of her eyes as she stared at the object that she hadn't seen in 25 years.

"Uh, th-this is the boat that I built with Juh-Georgie…" Bill spoke first, holding a paper boat in his right hand. Steph could see how perfect it still looked, despite how old it looked. And she could spot the words _S.S. Georgie_ written on the side in pristine black marker. Her face fell into a solemn expression as Bill leaned forward and gently placed his token into the fire.

"This is… um… my inhaler," Eddie said, holding up the aspirator he had used so long ago. Steph smiled slightly at the memories of him using it so much. But she also couldn't help but chuckle at his slightly nervous glance before taking one last gasp from the inhaler.

"Come on, dude," Richie sighed, looking slightly annoyed with him. Eddie relented and, rather unceremoniously, tossed his token into the fire.

Steph decided to go next, taking in a trembling breath as she held up her artifact, letting it dangle from two fingers. "This is a necklace that my mother gave to me that summer," she said strongly. "It's a locket, really. She said that it was to remind me that wherever I go, she's there with me somehow. There's a picture of us in it, a picture that I haven't seen in 25 years… I hid it away to hide the grief after she died… And now… I feel like I don't have to anymore…" And with that, she ever so softly let the chain of the necklace slip from her fingertips and fall into the fire, where she would never see it again.

Bill gently squeezed her shoulder, and she blinked the tears away, giving him a grateful smile. She then turned her head back around to see Beverly holding up her object. "Something that I wish I had held on to," the redhead whispered before gracefully placing a postcard into the fire.

"Uh… this is a page from my yearbook…" Ben spoke up, holding up a piece of paper, "...that only two people signed." Steph gasped slightly as she remembered what he was talking about. Doing nothing in that moment but smiling,

_she reached for Ben's backpack. "Let us sign this," she suggested in a kind voice. She took his yearbook out of it and wrote her name in it after noticing that absolutely nobody had signed it at all. She passed it to Beverly, giving Ben a polite smile, which he returned._

_As Bev signed the yearbook, Steph spared a glance at Ben Hanscom, who was staring at her best friend with a look of awe and admiration on his face. She smirked, secretly figuring out instantly that this boy had a little crush on Beverly. But when she looked up, Steph kept her face straight once more, but she could see Ben blush a little._

"I probably should've forgotten it," Ben continued. "But… I couldn't because I kept it in my wallet… _for 27 years._"

Steph couldn't help but grin at Ben as he sadly placed his token into the vase, letting it burn to ashes. She grimaced a little, knowing that it was something that meant so much to him.

"This is a token from the Capitol Theater," Richie said quicker than he probably would've, holding up a metal coin and tossing it roughly into the vase.

"Wait, you brought an _actual_ token?" Eddie asked in disbelief, and Richie huffed out a breath in irritation.

"Yeah, man," he breathed out. "That's what you're supposed to do, jerk."

"You have _any_ idea how long that's gonna take to burn?" exclaimed Eddie, gesturing to the fire.

"Yeah, but so is your inhaler, dude," Richie rebuked, making Steph roll her eyes.

"Guys, come on," Ben pleaded in vexation, slightly glaring at Richie, who ignored him.

"With the toxic fumes and the plastic and crap, so…" Richie finished.

"Beep beep, Richie," Steph whispered, and he relented, staying silent, much to their relief.

"Look closely, Steph," said Mike, and she could see a rock in his left hand, more like a stone. She could also spot a smear of blood that was stained onto it. "You see it?" Mike added, and she nodded, a little confused, but that fell away once he said the next sentence:

"That's where you hit Bowers."

She then giggled, a proud smile on her face. "Rock fight," she recalled softly. All of them chuckled.

_Henry was hit once more by a rock to the head. Steph's eyes widened in surprise, wondering who could have thrown this rock. She looked around for a long moment before her eyes landed on Bill, who was just lowering his arm, his face contorted with rage._

_Steph's heart skipped a beat when she realized her answer. She took a quiet but shaky breath before looking back to the gang._

_Good thing, too, as they were picking up rocks themselves. Steph picked up rocks and began throwing just as they did. She got hit with a few, but it was nothing that would permanently scarr her physically. She did grunt in slight pain as each one hit her, but her adrenaline level kept rising as she kept throwing._

_"ROCK WAR!" Richie bellowed before taking a rock to his own head._

_Steph saw this and screamed in rage, throwing rock after rock furiously and making her target each time. She was especially hitting Henry multiple times, as well as the others, which ultimately left him lying on the ground in a bloody mess, the others having run off yelling, "Screw you, Losers!"_

_She stood there, out of breath and her arms swinging lazily as they ached from throwing so much. But Steph was definitely satisfied at the results it brought out. She could have sworn she smirked at the sight in front of her, but she was too exhausted to notice._

_Steph felt a hand slip into hers, making her turn around to see Bill pulling her away from the edge of the river as the others began to leave with them. Although she blushed, she simply let him hold her hand as they walked away._

_"Thanks guys, but you shouldn't have done that," Mike said to them as they walked down a grassy hill; a train going by in the near distance behind them. "He'll be after you guys now."_

_"It's no problem," Steph replied nonchalantly. "Bowers is always after us. To be honest, we got used to it a long time ago."_

_"I guess that's one th-th-thing we all have in common," Bill added, to which Steph nodded in response._

_"Yeah, homeschool, welcome to the Losers' Club!" Richie shouted, which made Steph smile._

"The day these bonds were forged," Mike finished, looking at the rock for a long moment.

"That's not gonna burn either," Eddie muttered to Mike, but he ignored him, lightly throwing the rock into the fire.

After a long moment of silence, Eddie perked up. "Oh, wait!" He then pulled out the showercap from earlier that day, and Steph nodded along with Richie. "Couldn't forget about Stan… again," he said, placing the token into the fire. For Stan, their fallen friend.

"Okay… grab hands," Mike ordered softly, and Steph obeyed, taking Bill's hand in her left and Eddie's in her right. She held them tightly, appreciating the fact that it was them and nobody else, although she didn't know why at the time. She and Bill shared a look, one filled with hope and many prayers that this would work.

Mike inhaled shakily as he prepared his next sentence. "The Ritual of _Chüd_…" he began. "It's a battle of wills… The first step was our reunion… the second was the gathering of tokens… this is the final step."

Steph nodded confidently, along with the others.

Suddenly, the flames inside the vase went out, leaving the others in near pitch black darkness. It was as if the fire had been blown out by a gust of wind. Steph looked down in utter confusion, as did the others.

"What the…?" Richie muttered, his eyes squinted in perplexion.

Steph then had the urge to look up, and she sort of wished she hadn't. The second she did, she saw very bright lights illuminating the underground area, and for a moment, she was transfixed on the three dots. She felt as if she couldn't look away from them.

"What the h-h-h-h-heck is that?" Bill said in a low voice, but Steph could still hear him as the lights started descending.

"Don't look at them!" Mike demanded, making Steph look back down, her eyes frozen to the ground.

"Are those the Deadlights?!" Eddie exclaimed, his gaze about to be transfixed as well.

"DON'T LOOK AT THEM!" both Mike and Steph demanded, the latter following through with what he was saying. Eddie nodded, closing his eyes immediately.

"Turn light into dark… Turn light into dark. Say it!" Mike screamed. "_Say it!_" Steph nodded instantly in obedience.

"Turn light into dark…" she began, her voice stable, loud, and strong. She didn't pause as she said each word, despite the fact that she didn't truly know what the hell was going on. "Turn light into dark…" She could barely hear Mike's foreign chanting over the others speaking in English, and she suddenly felt a burst of wind blow her tied up hair in every direction possible, which made her tighten her grip on Bill's and Eddie's hands.

"Turn light into dark!" Richie yelled. "Mike, what's happening, man?!"

"KEEP CHANTING!" Mike bellowed, continuing as if he hadn't heard Richie at all.

"TURN LIGHT INTO DARK!" Steph screamed in the loudest voice she had ever used, both Beverly and Ben repeating her words just as loudly. She could feel more wind than ever blowing around the alien-like structure in a circular motion. She kept chanting and chanting until she felt like she couldn't breathe anymore, but she still yelled. But she stopped once she heard a new sound, a shutting sound.

She finally opened her eyes and saw Mike putting a lid on the vase, trapping what seemed to be the Deadlights. A confident smile crossed her face when this happened, but she rolled her eyes slightly when she could hear Eddie's voice.

"Turn light into dark!" he continued. "Turn light into dark! Is it working?! Did we do it?!"

But, something went wrong.

"Is this a part of it?" Beverly asked in a trembling voice.

A red substance was slowly forming, trying to force the lid off of the vase. "Keep chanting!" Mike ordered when Richie asked what was happening. The others started the chant up again, but it proved to not be working as the red substance got larger in size, making Steph and the others panic.

She herself could see that the substance was actually a balloon. The biggest balloon she had ever seen in her entire life, and she had to back out of the branch-like structure so she wouldn't be crushed by it. "Get out of that thing!" she shouted at the others as her feet hit unlevelled ground once more. Stumbling backwards, all Steph could see was the red light that filled the room from the balloon, so the others were not in her line of vision at all.

Suddenly, there was an extremely loud popping noise that almost broke Steph's eardrums, making her fall to the ground. All that she could hear was her ears ringing excessively, and she covered them. That was all that happened for several seconds, before she could perceive muffled voices as she finally opened her eyes. She weakly stood up, her legs wobbling and her entire body shaking. She nearly tumbled back to the ground but Beverly grabbing her arms prevented her from doing so.

"Are you okay?!" Steph yelled as loudly as she could. Beverly nodded, but Steph couldn't hear what she was really saying. A few seconds later, everything came back to focus and the voices were clear again, although her ears still hurt a little.

"Where's Mike?" Richie asked, concerned. "Mike?!"

A few moments of all of them calling out for the man in question passed before Mike jogged up to them, getting their attention. "I'm right here!" he called out. "I'm good!"

Steph ran up to him and put her hands on his shoulders as quickly as she could. "Did it work, Mike?" she asked him in a rushed tone. "Please tell me it worked, because I swear to God, if it didn't…"

Then she paused unexpectedly, hearing a tapping noise behind her. Slowly, shivering to her core, she turned around and looked up, shining her flashlight to where she was certain she heard the sound from.

_"Boo!"_

Everyone except for Steph yelled out in shock, since she just stood there, looking at the clown fearlessly. It seemed to be a lot taller as it glared down upon the group of seven.

_"Oh, did it work, Mikey? Did it work?"_ It taunted in a booming voice._ "Tell them why your silly little ritual didn't work! Tell them it's all just a… what's the words, Eds? Gazebo?"_

Steph's eyes widened to the size of saucers as Eddie asked, "Mike, what's he talking about?" She then looked at Mike with a questioning look. "Mike, talk to me!" she shouted. "What did you do?"

"M-M-M-M-Mikey?" Bill stuttered in a scared voice, and all of them were suddenly looking at Mike.

_"Oh, Mikey… you didn't show them the fourth side, did you?"_ It went further in a mockery of a sad voice. _"You didn't want them to know what actually happened to the poor Shokopiwah…"_

* * *

**A/N: You know, read this, as always!**

**Uh-oh! Mike lied to the Losers! NOW they're in trouble! Hype up the next chapter!**

**Thoughts on this chapter? Was it scary? Did you like when Bill protected Steph? I was inspired by Halloween 2018, I'm just a Michael Myers fanatic! **

**What do you think is going to happen next? If you've seen the actual movie, you guys already know, but some of my fans actually haven't seen It: Chapter Two. So, for those people, what do you predict will happen next?**

**Do you sense the closeness between Steph and Eddie? I will explain why that is in this story in one of the later chapters. And, before you say anything and a small spoiler, they were NEVER romantically interested in one another. I will explain later!**

**Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Be looking forward the next one, which will be the craziest one! As always, have a great day, and until next time!**

**\- Hermione Romanoff**


	10. Illusions and Reunions

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC!**

**A/N: We have reached the tenth chapter! I am predicting that there will be three or four more after this one, so be looking forward the those!**

**Forewarning: The POV will switch back and forth a few times between Steph and Bill, so I just wanted to prepare you for the craziness and emotions. This is by far the craziest and wild chapter of them all!**

_**SuperSentai199: Hey, you understand! Awesome! And yes, it proves how strong Steph truly is! :) Glad you enjoyed the last chapter!**_

_**Connie Hooper: Thank you! I completely understand that you've been busy. We all have those days where we have too much to do and we can't write. I can't wait for your next chapter of "Inevitable!"**_

_**robinmuffins: Thank you so much! And yes, the final showdown finally begins here! But, spoilers, Its death isn't in this chapter.**_

_**Angryfanfic: Hmmm... Guess you'll have to wait until the epilogue ;)**_

_**Guest: Me neither!**_

**_MusicLover14: Boy, oh boy! This is gonna be a long one (thank God you read my author's notes!)… First off, yes you did flatter me, the tables HAVE turned lol Second, I'm gonna answer all of your questions in one go. *inhales deeply* The Losers are currently Its true lair, so they're pretty much under the sewers. The Shokopiwah was a tribe from WAY back when that tried to defeat It with the Ritual of Chüd, but the fourth side of Mike's vase showed that they failed and It killed them all. The Turtle is not in It: Chapter Two at all, but I've read the book. The Turtle dies a few years before the adult storyline. And also, I do cliffhangers because I'm evil. Don't cry, but there is another one... :'( And you can give me as many kudos as you want! They make me happy!_**

**_MissBeckyJolene: Thank you! And, honestly, SAME!_**

**_ .2019: Glad you loved it!_**

**_Special thanks to Angryfanfic, SuperSentai199, Connie Hooper, robinmuffins, Guest, MusicLover14, DoodleBugNY, MissBeckyJolene, and .2019 for either leaving a review or favoriting/following the last chapter!_**

**_Now, without further ado, here is the tenth and VERY LONG chapter!_**

* * *

_**Chapter Ten**_

Anger filled every inch of Steph's being as she turned and gave Mike the scariest look he had ever seen from her. For a moment, he didn't know whether to be more scared of the demonic entity or his best friend.

"You lied to us _again_?!" Steph roared at him, the glower in her eyes not changing one bit as she grit her teeth in rage. She could see Mike trying to come up with an excuse but, in her honest opinion, she knew that he was far from getting out of this one innocent.

"The tribe… they didn't believe they could kill It back then… that's why it didn't work for them, because they didn't believe they could kill It!" Mike pleaded, trying to come off as telling the truth, but Steph knew that he was lying the second he started speaking. She scoffed as everyone else started to get ticked off.

"ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME, MIKE?!" wailed Richie in irritation.

Steph couldn't believe that her best friend would have the guts - the _audacity _\- to lie to her face like that. It was even worse that she bought everything that he had said, she freaking believed him! It made her sick to her stomach. Not even Mike saying that he was sorry could fix this now, it was now a life or death situation no matter what happened. She couldn't do anything about that.

"Screw you, Mikey!" Bill sobbed, just as the giant version of the clown started crawling out of the branch structure.

"The Deadlights!" Beverly warned them. "Don't look at them!" She was right, as the entity took on that form for a second. Steph closed her eyes for a moment until she was sure it was safe to open them again.

Steph's eyes widened even more to the point they were nearly bugging out of her skull when she saw the spider legs attached to the creature. Her heart started going at a speed unknown to humanity as she started backing up, Bill jumping in front of her to protect her as she stared at the _thing_ that she couldn't even have imagined to ever see.

"_For 27 years…"_ It growled, its voice bouncing off of the walls and into the ears of each Loser that stood there in terror. "_...I dreamt of you… I _craved _you… I'VE _MISSED _YOU!"_

Mike then took steps away from the group and towards the demon, something that they were not anticipating. Steph shook her head and started yelling his name, but he seemed to not have heard her, as he was shaking from head to toe when he finally stopped ten feet from the clown. "I'm sorry, guys," he said in a croaky voice. "I'm so sorry!"

Steph screamed at the top of her lungs when one of the creature's gloves turned into a giant claw, just like from her nightmare of Georgie in the past. "_TIME TO FLOAT!"_ It said the exact words from then. She knew what was going to happen next, but she wouldn't let it take place. So, she bravely ran for her best friend, despite Bill's attempts to hold her back. "Steph, no!" he bellowed.

Just as the clown saw her, It brought down the sharp tip of the claw on Mike, but Steph got there with half a second to spare and she jerked Mike out of the way. The claw impaled the ground, missing the woman by a nanometer. "RUN!" she screamed at the others as she pulled Mike along with her.

She could hear the thudding of fast footsteps after Bill ran up to her and gripped her hand in his. Steph and Bill ran as fast as they could, the others screaming either in front of, beside, or behind them. He pushed her ahead of him to give her more of a lead as she saw another tunnel-like area in one of the walls.

They both jumped into the tunnel, their hands still attached in the process. Immediately, ice cold water doused Steph's senses, making her eyes widen a little. Goosebumps erupted all over her arms as she swam and, to her horror, Bill's hand was separated from hers quite quickly.

She couldn't see him in the depths of the dark water, and Steph panicked majorly. Her oxygen was robbed from her lungs, so she couldn't breathe at all. But, she turned in a random direction and saw a shape at least five feet away from her. She swam as fast as she could toward it, her arms reaching out for it. She could feel the object; it felt like wood, and then metal.

_It's a door!_ Steph thought to herself as she twisted the doorknob. The door flung open, and she closed her eyes before pulling herself inside. But the place she jumped into wasn't what she expected at all.

* * *

_Steph's POV_

Instead, the area Steph _walked_ into was brightly lit; there was no sunshine, but it was still white and bright, complemented with the delicate mist enveloping her. She could feel the slight poking of the small stones under her now bare feet as she took steps. It didn't hurt like it normally would, but she did feel some pain; she ignored it. All she could do was keep walking, forcing one foot in front of the other as she continued into the white abyss.

She didn't know where she was going, or if she would get out of this, but Steph did know one thing. It was tricking her, It was making her see things, It was setting her in a trap. She needed to think of a way to overpower It… to fool It, to defeat the freaking monster!

She was suddenly thrown — No, not thrown, _fired_, fired like a living bullet. She was picked up and heaved across the abyss. _It's not real!_ she screamed at herself. _It's just playing tricks on me, I can do this, be strong, be true, brave…_

Steph didn't know how long she was either flying or falling… In fact, it felt like ages until she hit solid ground again. _Slammed_ against the ground. Her ears rang for a while, pain filling her head as she clutched it, grunting. She could see nothing but blackness for a second, and if it weren't for the throbbing pain spreading through every inch of her body, she would've thought she was dead.

It was an eternity before she finally managed to get up, briefly feeling a white-hot pain shoot through her bandaged arms. She looked around, noticing that she was back in the Barrens, except everything that surrounded her was black and white. It was dead silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop, and it greatly unnerved Steph. No wind, no birds chirping… just her quiet, trembling breathing…

"_Steph…"_

The woman froze, just barely managing to hear the whisper. She stayed quiet, her body rigid, glancing in every direction. A part of her was scared, but she was sure not to show it. Steph was ready to scream at the demon that it wasn't real, that she didn't believe in it.

"_It's all your fault, Steph... All your fault…"_

Steph gasped quietly as she recognized the voice. She spun around a few times, trying to discover where it had come from, but to no avail. She clenched her fists, refusing to back down. Taking a deep breath, she whispered, "This isn't real, you're just seeing things, it's fake…"

But her racing heartbeat and her curiosity proved to be her downfall because, when she turned back around, she was barely able to hold back a scream of surprise.

A woman who looked to be around Steph's age was standing twenty feet away, staring at her, gaze locked onto her. She wouldn't have recognized her if it weren't for her mid-length, straight brunette hair and blue eyes. Despite her surprise, Steph couldn't speak, even if she wanted to, backing away as the woman slowly approached her.

* * *

_Bill's POV_

Bill gasped for air as he broke through the surface of the water. He pushed his soaked hair out of his face, blinking his eyes open to see more clearly, taking in his surroundings. His eyes widened when he realized exactly where he had ended up, surprised that _this_ was the place he had to be in a moment like this. Why was he _here_? Of all places, why _here_?

He barely had time to breathe when he suddenly heard a door open behind him. He turned in the shoulder-deep water, and his expression morphed into one of confusion at what he saw. Truthfully, he didn't know how much he was being tricked, but he knew he was seeing things as he saw his thirteen-year-old self slowly descending the basement stairs. For a slight moment, he thought about how young he had been when all of this happened so long ago… What it would've been like if nothing like this happened… If —

"I lost it, Billy…"

If Georgie hadn't died at all…

Bill spun back around at the sound of the scarily familiar voice. He suddenly found it difficult to breathe, his heart dropping to his stomach in sorrow.

"It… It just floated off…"

'Georgie' was standing in the exact same corner of the basement as he did 27 years before this. He looked just like he did back then, so young, so innocent of the horrors the world contained. With his yellow rain slicker and galoshes, he looked just as he did before he chased the paper boat to his death all those years ago. Except this time, he no longer had the warm smile on his lips that was accompanied by his bright blue eyes. His face was instead completely blank as he stared at the teenage Bill, not even acknowledging the company of the present Bill.

"I-I'm not m-m-m-m-ma-mad at you," Bill could hear his younger self say in a much more stable voice than he had really used that night so long ago.

The man was frozen in place, not really knowing what to do as he saw the scene take place before him. He felt as if he couldn't move his legs from where they stood, but also feeling numb with the amount of emotions flowing through him.

"It's your fault what happened, isn't it? You weren't really sick that day, were you?"

Bill stopped looking between them, his heart thudding in his chest as he felt even more guilt rise up inside him. 'Georgie' was telling the truth, although he himself hated to admit it… Heck, he didn't even _want_ to admit it, but he knew It was going to find out sooner or later, and he couldn't stop It. He looked at 'Georgie' again just as he heard the painful reply.

"No."

Bill saw the boy's face alter into a look of hurt and disgust, but not once did 'Georgie' look at him.

"I only… pr-pretended because I didn't wanna puh-play with you," teenage Bill added, not sounding remorseful whatsoever. Present Bill looked at him with an expression of shame and regret. This was something he didn't want to have to face, but he knew there was no stopping that now…

* * *

_Steph's POV_

"_It's your fault I died… you know that, right, Steph?" _she said. "_You let me die all alone… you weren't there for me…"_

Steph shook her head over and over again, her eyes as wide as saucers as she kept backing away. "No, it wasn't," she murmured, tears swimming in her eyes, and she tried her best to blink them away. "I didn't do anything wrong…" She was trying to convince herself that she had never killed her mother but, very slowly, the guilt and the blame started to seep back into her soul. Her hands found her head, fingers knotting themselves into her hair as she sunk to her knees, refusing to look at the thing that was most definitely not her mother.

"You _killed me! You did it, you let me die alone!"_ It continued to scream at her, taking slow and agonizing steps towards Steph.

"No, I didn't!" she shrieked. "You're _not_ my mother! She would never have said that!" Now, she wasn't scared, instead heartbroken that It had to do this to guilt-trip her. She didn't want it to work, she didn't want to look weak and useless. But here she was… letting It rattle her into her state of depression to make her more of a target.

Why was she so special? Was it because of the depression? The fact that she was one of the mentally stronger members of the Losers? What the heck was it?!

_Why does It want me to die so badly?!_ her mind asked her, and she shook her head, truthfully not knowing the answer to that question.

"_It's all your fault! Your loser friends were more important than I was!"_

"No…" Steph muttered, slowly raising her head to face the form of her now decomposing mother. "I didn't kill her…"

* * *

_Bill's POV_

"You lied and I died…"

Bill looked at 'Georgie' again, seeing him slowly approach him, but as if he weren't there at all. His eyes widened a little at the insult, tears threatening to arrive, but he didn't want to cry. He wanted so desperately to leave this place and never come back, but he didn't know how, especially since he couldn't move his legs at all.

"You lied and _I_ died…" 'Georgie' repeated, his voice sounding more disbelieving than the last time, taking step after step, the water slightly disturbed with his approach. Bill turned to look back at his teenage self, and saw that his expression hadn't wavered one bit, his eyes blank as he stared at 'Georgie.'

"YOU LIED AND I DIED!" Bill's little 'brother' shouted, finally stopping in his tracks. The man was now crying, but the water on his face perfectly hid the tears cascading down his cheeks.

"_YOU LIED AND I DIED! __**YOU LIED AND I DIED!**_" he screamed.

At that moment, Bill felt true terror in reaction to hearing these words and he fully understood why. The look upon 'Georgie's' face as he stared up at his past self was worse than Bill could've ever imagined. There was no warm smile or sense of happiness in his eyes. There was cold fury etched into every line of his young face. Bill could practically feel the anger rolling off of him as he screamed each word, almost like he could kill you with a single look.

"It happened because of _me_, Georgie," teenage Bill shouted. "_ME!_"

"No, no, no, no, it was..." But Bill couldn't get another word out, as he suddenly felt a piece of soft plastic in his hand. He turned his head in extreme confusion to see that his left arm was raised, and his eyes trailed up to where it was strangely attached to the rain slicker. He let out a breath that he had held for ages as he stared at his hand, and he tugged slightly. His hand wouldn't be freed, and Georgie wouldn't move at all.

Then It suddenly turned around to face Bill, 'Georgie's' face decayed and sunken. "LIED AND DIED!" It cried out angrily.

* * *

_Steph's POV_

_Steph, be brave! Show It how strong you really are,_ a voice that sounded eerily like Bill's screamed in her mind. If it weren't for the seriousness of the situation, Steph would have smiled, but instead, she stood up with a blank expression on her face.

"I didn't kill my mother," she said softly, "and it isn't my fault she died. She just died because it was her time to go…"

A brief look of shock flashed across 'Jamie's' face, her eyes widening ever so slightly as she halted her approach. But after a few seconds the demon regained its composure. "_Yes, you did kill me!"_ It shouted at her. "_It's all your fault! I died because you weren't there! You didn't care!"_

"Yes, I did!" Steph screeched, now approaching It fearlessly. She just barely noticed It slowly backing away from her, and a smirk touched her lips. "Just because I went to school and had friends doesn't mean I didn't take care of my mother every day I could! It isn't my fault and it never will be!"

She then mustered up the courage to grab her 'mother's' throat and pull her to the small lake by the edge of the Barrens. Looking directly into the blue eyes that were now turning yellow, she growled, "Now it's time for you to die, impostor!"

Steph then pushed the rotting corpse into the lake, but before she could step back, a grimy hand latched onto her wrist and pulled her in as well. She screamed as she was dragged into the water, struggling in Its grasp. She kicked around for a long time, but the hand still didn't let go. She could feel the water filling her lungs, making it extremely difficult to breathe. She couldn't see anything, no light… Nothing but darkness in her vision, blackness, _nothingness_.

She managed to kick the demon and, for a split second, she could see the yellow eyes staring back at her before they flickered away. The hand finally let go, and she was able to move at last. She swam upward, trying to find the surface of the lake, desperately wanting to breathe. But no success.

Unlike the cave, there was nothing to guide her out of this trap, this trick… Every time Steph tried to swim upward, she would hit a solid substance and hurt her head, but the water muffled her grunts.

All ability to breathe left Steph, her oxygen being drained - no - _sucked_ out of her. Her muscles weakened, her arms and legs went limp, and her eyelids drooped. She felt exhausted, defeated, beaten to her last inch of life, and she finally gave up. Nobody was going to be able to save her from this, so why even try fighting? Why even attempt to kill the monster that was about to kill her right now?

There was no point.

No point at all.

Her eyes finally closed…

* * *

_Bill's POV_

Bill yelled in shock at 'Georgie's' furious screaming. But he got over that pretty quickly, since he snatched the head of the puppet and began shoving it into the water. He grunted as he did this, his breathing happening in forced gasps.

'Georgie' kicked out 'his' arms and legs desperately, grabbing a hold of Bill's hands. Bill felt the pain tugging at his heartstrings, and he wanted nothing more than to tell his little brother that he was so sorry. But, being the smart and brave person, he held 'Georgie' underneath the water.

After about a minute and a half, 'Georgie' eventually stopped struggling. Bill opened his eyes and saw the peaceful look on the face of his deceased brother. He sighed with relief, knowing that he had finally lain Georgie's spirit to rest.

And that was when he started to cry, feeling the need to mourn.

He heard footsteps behind him, and he hesitantly turned around to face his teenage self. He stared into what was supposed to be his old bright blue eyes, but they looked black. _Coal_ black and evil. It made Bill want to get away from what he knew was not his old self, but he wasn't able to. Seconds after he thought this, he heard a clicking sound, and he looked down to see what it was. To his absolute horror, he saw the same bolt gun Mike had brought with him when they had first defeated It a long time ago.

He looked back up into the eyes of 'teenage Bill' as he felt the barrel of the bolt gun being pressed roughly to his forehead. He closed his eyes for a moment, preparing for the inevitable, but it didn't happen at all. Instead, his past self spoke to him, much to his surprise.

"We deserve to die," 'teenage Bill' muttered quietly, his voice emotionless but trembling. It made Bill shake his head, his eyes full of pleading.

"No," he replied, his voice a little more stable, but still shaking. "You were the best big brother there ever w-w-w-w-was…" He could see tears shimmering in his past self's eyes, and it almost made him feel pity, but he knew that this was all fake, an _illusion_ of some sort.

"NO!" his past self roared, his right hand, which was holding the bolt gun, quivering very badly. "WE KILLED OUR LITTLE BROTHER!" 'He' tried to get more words out, but 'he' couldn't, very close to sobbing.

Bill, at that moment, truly felt the loss of his little brother. The little boy that he had been so close with was now just a memory, a shadow lingering in the depths of his mind. It didn't feel painful this time, but strange to lose someone that he had once had in his life; you could compare it to a limb being torn from your body without the chance to save it. Bill had felt very alone for so long, but he then realized that he wasn't alone. He had his best friends in his life… he had Ben, Mike, Stan, Eddie, Richie, Beverly, and Steph.

He had his wife, Steph, the woman that he loved more than anyone else in the world, maybe even more than Georgie. And it had taken her to figure out that what had happened to his little brother was not his fault. Sure, he still felt sorrow and pain from the loss of his only sibling, but it was Steph and the other Losers that had pulled him out of that. And the one thing that finally stood out to him was the fact that he weirdly could not feel the guilt anymore. He was glad that he couldn't, and he was about to make that very clear.

"He loved you…" he whispered to his teenage self. "And just because you didn't wanna play on a rainy day… just-just _one time?_" When he didn't hear a response from what he knew to be the monster, he continued, his bravery finally coming out at that moment. "That does _not_ make it our fault!" he finished.

There was a long moment of silence, and Bill thought it was all over. He thought this illusion would fade away and he would go right back to reality. But he was very wrong.

After five seconds, the teenage version of himself pulled the trigger of the bolt gun. Bill actually leaned backwards, a little shocked and caught off guard; but a small smirk grew on his face when he saw that the gun did no damage to him.

It chuckled nervously and furiously, reloading the gun and pulling the trigger again. Nothing.

"And it never ever did," Bill said calmly, staring at the ever angrier monster standing in front of him.

_"You really think it wasn't your fault?"_ It teased him, still in the form of Bill's past self. _"You were never there for him, and you won't be there for the others when they die. Especially poor little Steph… why, that little brat can go first, now can she?"_

Bill snapped, his expression turning from one of pleading and sadness to pure rage. His eyes burned with a loathing that he had never felt before as he slowly grabbed Its wrist and snatched the bolt gun away. His fingers enclosing around the gun handle in a fist, he raised it up and pressed it against Its forehead, causing the form of his teenage self to seethe at him.

"You will never _ever_ touch my wife again!" he snarled. And he then pulled the trigger, and proceeded to damage the entity.

Several seconds of an eerie quiet passed afterwards, during which Bill was finally able to move, slowly backing away and looking for a way out. But, at the last moment, he turned back around and saw something that made his jaw drop in panic.

The form of his teenage self was slowly turning back into the clown and It cackled with the most deranged smile Bill had ever seen in his 40 years of living. It suddenly dived at him and he fell back underwater, and the basement of his old house disappeared forever. He swam around, barely able to see, and noticed something almost instantly.

Steph was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

_Steph's POV_

_She opened her eyes again, but strangely didn't feel the need to gasp for air. Steph was lying across her back on the ground in a normal manner, and she almost didn't want to move. But, feeling the urge in the back of her mind telling her to, she got up off of the ground after a few seconds that seemed like years. She stumbled slightly, feeling dizzy out of nowhere, but regained her balance moments later._

_Steph looked over herself and saw, much to her confusion, that she had absolutely no sewer water on her whatsoever. In fact, she was perfectly dry and even uninjured. There were no cuts or bandages on her right arm and left leg. She felt perfectly at peace and didn't detect any pain. But she had the sensation of floating as she walked, not like she had before unconsciousness had taken over. And that was when she finally took in her surroundings._

_She was standing on the street where Bill and Richie fought that day after their first battle with It. The only difference was that it was very quiet and harmonious, almost as if it were at peace and that nothing had happened at all._

_No memories overtook her, and that fact alone relaxed her. So, she knew that this wasn't real life; she was one hundred percent dreaming._

_Wait… _was_ she?_

_She couldn't feel any oxygen entering and leaving her lungs, and she wasn't even able to feel her heart beating. It was pretty much like it wasn't beating at all, maybe because it wasn't. Steph didn't truly know why this was happening or if it were even possible. The one question that travelled through her mind was this: Was she dreaming or was she dead?_

_That was the thing; she had absolutely no clue, and it didn't scare her. Rather, it confused her, and she didn't like it straight away. She could tell that there was no wind that blew through the streets, almost as if the area was frozen on its own, stuck in time, never moving forward. It weirded her out a little, and she hated it._

_She looked around, her eyes darting in every possible direction to see what was going on. But nobody else was there with her at all… Steph was able to walk, so she did just that, putting one foot in front of the other as she journeyed down the old street. The trees were still as green and the houses were still as beautiful as she remembered, but it didn't feel the same. It didn't feel real, and that was a strange thing._

_Steph still felt as if her thoughts were groggy. Her head was pounding with pain, and every cell in her body was screaming for oxygen, but she didn't see red and black spots in front of her like she was expecting. Everything was clear, and that was a relief to her, but it was very odd._

_"Steph?"_

_She suddenly felt a tugging motion, and she was jerked a few feet to her left, making her turn in that direction. Steph tried to make a sound, but her voice failed her; she could tell that it felt as if someone were frantically pulling her, but there was nobody there by her side. She was still on her own, and she felt it in her heart. But the other thing she had caught was the voice._

_The voice she heard was very familiar, like she had heard it before. Almost like she had heard it in her childhood… or rather just a few minutes ago. Steph glanced around, her blonde hair flying in several directions as she did so. And her eyes landed on something - someone - that she thought she would never see again. Although doubt filled her being at that very moment, she couldn't deny the pure shock and sort of joy that flowed through her._

_Steph's mother was standing a reasonable distance away from her, not moving, but looking in her direction with a genuine and soft smile on her face. Steph herself stayed where she was, not about to be fooled again, her hands clenched into fists as she stared at Jamie. "I don't trust you…" she admitted out loud. "I don't know if it's really you or that freaking clown…"_

_Jamie finally moved, shaking her head and waving a hand around, something that she had always used to do during Steph's childhood. "Sweetie, it's me," she pleaded, sounding very serious. And the blonde-haired woman couldn't see any problem as she examined her mother. "It really is me this time, I can prove it," Jamie added, her voice very sincere and slightly upset._

_Steph felt more tears in her eyes for what seemed like the millionth time that night as she nodded. "I believe you," she whispered. After a few seconds, she started sprinting towards her mother, laughing with happiness as she did so. Her hair fluttered behind her, bouncing off of her back and shoulders as she put great distance between her feet. To her, it felt like forever until she finally made it to Jamie. And when she did reach the brunette woman, she threw her arms around her and held her tightly, not wanting to let go. Her mother hugged her back just as tightly but Steph, surprisingly, didn't feel any physical pressure on her chest. In fact, she no longer felt the burning sensation in her lungs._

_She pulled away from Jamie, chuckling through the battling tears as she gazed at the near identical eyes that stared back: dark, midnight blue, except they were more dull that hers were. And she then confirmed that it was indeed her mother standing in front of her._

_"It's really you," she whispered, starting to sob, but she didn't cry; she didn't feel the need to let the tears flow. Jamie nodded, that smile remaining on her face as Steph tried her best to get over the surprise. The blonde couldn't look away, very shocked that her mother looked the exact same as she had all those years ago. But, there was one thing that stuck out like a sore thumb in her mind._

_"Wait…" she whispered, the tearless weeping fading away slowly. "But… you're dead… you died a long time ago…" Her eyes were now showing disorientation in them as she looked down. She could hear Jamie chuckle slightly, making Steph look at her again._

_"I know I'm dead," she said bluntly. "But I am here… Come on, let's take a walk."_

_And so they did. Steph walked by her mother down the street that put her through a temporary depression, but the strange thing was that it seemed never ending. She felt as if she would never turn onto another street. All the while, she kept feeling a pressure on her chest, almost like someone was pushing it; but she didn't feel anything else. She turned to look at Jamie, but the brunette woman looked straight ahead, not looking at her for some time._

_"Steph…" her mother finally began, and she paid attention. "You know you're dreaming, right?" Steph nodded. "Well, actually… I would say you're between life and death… You kind of drowned just earlier, but I'm here to tell you this. Now is _not_ the time for you to die. You need to live."_

_Steph turned to her mother in bewilderment, shaking her head a little. "So… you're basically saying that I need to open my eyes again and not give up…?"_

_Jamie laughed again. "Sort of," she answered. "I'm saying that you have a long life ahead of you, and now isn't the time to give all of that up. You have all of your friends with you at this moment… you have Bill, who is trying to revive you right now, and he's always been there for you. They will always be there when you need them…"_

_Steph nodded, understanding fully what her mother meant. "But…" she added. "What about you? You're gone… You're not there."_

_"That's where I'm gonna stop you there, honey," Jamie said, cutting her off. "I may be gone… I may be dead… But I'm still with you in your heart. I promised you the day you were born that I would never leave you in any way. I'm still keeping that promise. I'm sorry that what happened that day affected you so badly, but just know that I'm still here, and that I always will be."_

_The blonde-haired woman nodded, fully believing her mother, and was positive that tears wouldn't show up again. She gave Jamie a gentler hug, but almost didn't want to let go, hesitating to do so. But a whisper in her ear made her rethink that feeling._

_"Let go, Steph," Jamie murmured. "Let me go so you can move on."_

_Steph sighed sadly, squeezing her mother one more time before releasing her arms from around her. Immediately, she felt a weight being lifted off of her shoulders and a sense of relief glide through her emotions. She locked eyes with Jamie again and, to her elation, felt no more guilt seeping into her. "Okay," she whispered._

_Steph suddenly felt air entering her lungs, and she was finally able to breathe. But it felt strange, weird; the oxygen felt as if it didn't belong to her, which made her slightly worried. She could also hear another voice echo in her ears, confusing her a great deal. She strained to hear it, but it was difficult to do. "What's going on?" she asked Jamie._

_Her mother looked up slightly, tilting her head as if she could hear the same thing Steph was hearing. A small smile grew back on her face as she looked at her daughter again. "You'll find out in a few moments," she replied, slowly backing away. "You know… I'm sure you don't realize just how much more amazing you've become since I died."_

_The blonde chuckled a little, shaking her head. "Bill reminds me everyday," she said simply. "It's a little annoying."_

_"Yet you appreciate it," Jamie added._

_Steph could start to hear the voice much more clearly, and it made her hope of staying alive rise drastically._

"Steph? Can you h-huh-hear me? Breathe! Don't be d-d-d-d-dead…"

_She felt another hint of pressure on her chest, and then more air that didn't belong to her filling and leaving her lungs. And that was when it clicked for her, and she perked up. Jamie's smile grew into a grin, a clue that she knew the real answer to Steph's question. She herself smiled back, reluctantly watching her mother fade away, as well as the surroundings around them._

_"Will I see you again?!" she called out. Jamie nodded._

_"You will someday!" she shouted back in a calm voice. "Just so you know… You have some amazing friends. Now wake up and go kill that freaking clown!"_

_And just then, Steph doubled over and_

started coughing violently, her head jerking up off of the ground it laid on. Water spurted out of her mouth, landing all over her face as her choking and coughing turned into wheezing. She felt hands on her face as she looked around wildly, her vision still blurry as she tried to get it back.

"Steph? Bruh-Breathe… Can you hear m-m-m-m-me?" Bill said, his trembling voice filling her ears.

Her eyesight then came back and she could see again. Her breathing slowed, although she still choked a little, her vivid and dark blue eyes meeting Bill's bright blue ones. A smile formed on her face, one of relief and contentment as she brought her right hand up and rested it on his face. "Bill?" she gasped out, still under slight shock from all the water she had coughed up. Her husband chuckled happily and Steph could see the tears streaming down his face as he rested his forehead on hers. "It's muh-me… don't worry," he assured her.

Steph nodded, her left hand pressed against his neck as she closed her eyes. They stayed that way for nearly a full minute, the commotion going on around them briefly forgotten.

"I th-th-thought I lost you," Bill whispered frantically, his voice cracking. Steph shook her head, pushing him away slightly so he could see her. "You never will," she replied confidently, and Bill smiled.

He then leaned in and planted his lips on hers more gently than he had ever done in their lives. If Steph were standing on her feet, she was sure her knees would have buckled right there. Like so many other times, her heart raced in her chest, ricocheting off of her ribcage over and over; she could feel shivers moving up and down her spine at lightning speed, and she refused to let go of Bill.

But, unfortunately, the moment didn't last very long, because Bill pulled away seconds later. "Are you okay?" he asked without stuttering. Steph shook her head slightly, which concerned him.

"I will be when this is over," she answered before slowly getting up. "Come on, let's go kill that freaking clown." She then extended her hand to Bill and he took it without hesitation, getting up and following her back into the giant dome-like room.

Steph instantly saw Mike hiding behind one of the branches that stuck out from the ground, but she could see that he was trying to stay out of Its sight. Because of this, she didn't say anything, instead remaining where she was, her hand still fastened to Bill's. But, seconds later, Mike saw them and tried to come out from where he was without being spotted. Steph shook her head frantically but he paid her no mind; just after she warned him, he came to regret not paying attention.

The giant clown came into their view once more, Its eyes locked on Mike as he stared up at it. That foolish smile was on Its face again as it approached the man as slowly as possible.

"I know what you are," Mike said in a composed voice. "That's why I'm not afraid."

Suddenly, one of Its huge arms wrapped around Mike's entire body like an anaconda. Steph yelled in a panic when she saw this and tried to run towards her friend but, with Bill being right next to her, she was pulled back and his arms encircled her waist to hold her back. "Duh-Don't!" he forewarned her in an anxious voice.

_"I know what _you_ are,"_ the clown scorned Mike, a smirk in its smile as It leaned closer to him. _"A madman…"_

It then opened its mouth wide, preparing to devour Mike. Steph shrieked, trying to break free of Bill grasp. He shook his head, his strong arms keeping her frozen where she was. "I won't lose you again!" he shouted, but she refused to relent.

Out of the blue, a stone flew through the air and hit the clown with such force that it nearly knocked It backwards. The arm loosened around Mike, and Steph looked to see where the rock had come from, her eyes eventually landing on the person that had thrown it.

"HEY, MAGGOTHEAD!" Richie bellowed, a look of outrage and boldness on his face as he bent down to pick up another rock. Steph couldn't help but laugh a little at his choice of words, rushing to Mike's aid after he was thrown to the ground. Fortunately for her, Bill finally let her go.

"You wanna play Truth or Dare?!" taunted Richie, his ridiculing carrying on as he stared straight at the clown, not backing away anymore. "_Here's_ the truth! You're a sloppy _twat!_"

Steph couldn't see for herself, so she wasn't able to notice the clown's glare piercing into Richie's soul. She smiled for a moment, grateful that her best friend was finally being brave.

Little did she know that her hope would be shattered in seconds.

"Yeah, that's right!" Richie continued, lifting up the rock in his right hand, ready to throw it. "Let's dance! Yippee ki-yay, motherfu-"

In an instant, Richie's mocking was broken and all went silent. Steph looked back up from checking on Mike; her eyes widened in trepidation and she wailed at the top of her lungs at what she saw: Richie levitating into the air, his eyes white and blank, obviously caught in the supernatural grip of the Deadlights… just like Beverly had been all those years ago.

Steph tried to run for Richie, calling out his name, but both Bill and Mike held her back this time. Her struggles nearly got the better of them, but they managed to restrain her from moving further. She grunted as she demanded for them to let her go, but neither listened.

Nearly two minutes passed, and Steph was positive that Richie was about to be killed, since she could see Its mouth getting wider, the Deadlights emanating from it. She closed her eyes, unable to watch when it happened; she didn't want to see her best friend die in front of her. She couldn't lose another friend, and this fact was about to make her cry.

"BEEP BEEP!" came a yell from what seemed to be behind Richie.

Steph opened her eyes to see a spear soaring through the air and, to her, it seemed like slow motion. Not even five seconds later, the weapon went through the clown's head, impaling It in the mouth. Richie plummeted back to the ground as It choked on the spear, before falling back onto another one of the branches, piercing through its torso. The woman sighed with relief just as Ben and Beverly sprinted into the chamber. She could see, much to her confusion, that Beverly was covered head to toe in blood; but she could ask questions later.

She then saw Eddie run over to Richie, shaking him awake. "Hey, Rich! Wake up!" he shouted to get his attention. Richie finally opened his eyes, snapped out of his trance as Eddie continued. "There he is! Hey, buddy! Hey, Richie, listen. I think I got It, man! I think I killed It! I think I did! I think I killed It for real!"

Not even half a second after he said this, Steph's entire world was ripped apart forever.

"NOOOOOOOO!" she screeched in pure sadness and anger, her scream louder than the others. Her eyes were wider than ever at what she saw, looking at what had just occurred at the same time Eddie did.

One of Its claws had torn through the man, impaling him majorly as it stuck out of his chest.

* * *

**A/N: You know me by now...**

**OH NO! Eddie is very badly hurt! I think you guys can predict what will happen in the next chapter... :''( I'm sad.**

**ANYWAYS, thoughts on this chapter? Was it intense? I thought so!**

**What did you all think of the illusions Steph and Bill had? Were they awesome? What about the dream Steph had? FINALLY, she gets a good dream! Yay!**

**I'm sorry I'm ending on ANOTHER cliffhanger! But this will be the last TRUE one, I promise! Don't you guys worry!**

**Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter... I'm sure you guys did but I don't care lol... As always, have a great day, and until next time!**

**\- Hermione Romanoff**


	11. You're All Grown Up

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC!**

**A/N: I know this chapter is also early! Once again going to a relative's house, so I can't upload tomorrow. But hey! You get another early chapter, so yay for you guys! And also, there is a horror trivia game going on at my town library tonight, and I'm participating! Wish me luck! :)**

**Anyway, one of the shorter chapters, I know, but I thought it turned out pretty well. This whole chapter is just one long scene, and it ends on... I wouldn't really call it a cliffhanger, but it ends on an emotional note, so you have been warned. GRAB THE TISSUES!**

_**SuperSentai199: Thank you! That was the part of the story I worked the hardest on! And, I know. EDDIE WAS AWESOME! I'm just gonna go cry in my personal corner *sobs hysterically***_

_**MissBeckyJolene: Me too! *cries even more* And that's nice that a tow of the traits of the couple are a part of you! Honestly, that goes for me, too. And you'll get to see what happens next here! Prepare yourself for the tears to come!**_

_**robinmuffins: Thank you, thank you, thank you! I loved how that scene turned out, and Steph's dream was my favorite part! And... *sighs sadly* Eddie, I MISS YOU! *cries so much more***_

_** .2019: Thank you!**_

_**Connie Hooper: Thank you so much! And yes, I'm also happy they finally moved on. And... AGAIN, I miss Eddie ;(**_

_**MusicLover14: Girl, you need to make an actual account! We need to PM each other, but if you can't, that's okay. I'm so happy that you finally watched It: Chapter Two, and I cry every time I watch it! And, I'M SORRY about the cliffhanger. That is the last one, and this one ends on the closest thing to a cliffhanger, but it isn't one, I promise. And, yeah... that's pretty much how I reacted to Eddie's death :( Hope you enjoy this chapter! P.S. The second half of your review made me LMFAO! And on my story, "A New Family," if you look at the first chapter again, I have revealed the full cast of characters and the actors that portray them, INCLUDING EMILY!**_

_**Special thanks to SuperSentai199, MissBeckyJolene, robinmuffins, .2019, Connie Hooper and MusicLover14 for leaving a review on the last chapter!**_

**Now, without further ado, here is the eleventh and very emotional chapter!**

* * *

_**Chapter Eleven**_

In that moment, Steph's heart collapsed - where there was light came shadows, the pain coming and going and repeating like waves on frigid sand. She didn't even notice the streaming tears cleansing her dirty cheeks, but she could barely see anymore, as her vision was blurry from them. She didn't succumb to her emotions, but her entire world was gone. But she did know one thing: she was feeling grief.

Steph had never experienced grief this bad before. Sure, she had felt it when she lost her mother, and it was bad. She had also gone through it briefly with the loss of Stan. But this… this was on a whole other level.

"Richie…" Eddie muttered weakly, blood pouring from both his mouth and the wound that was formed in his torso. Just how his voice sounded at that moment made the tiny amount of hope Steph felt seconds before shrivel up and die. Just when she got over her guilt of her mother's death, reality had to come back and ruin everything again.

It suddenly used its claw to lift Eddie up into the air, making him grunt multiple times in agony. Steph couldn't scream anymore, already doing it to the point where her voice practically vanished in seconds. The moment felt like it lasted for an infinite amount of time, and she was sure it would repeat in her mind for years afterwards. She could hear everyone's cries of anguish and emotional agony, but one voice stood out.

"Eddie…" Richie whimpered, his tone one of surprise and trauma, and Steph's heart broke all over again, knowing that the two had been very close. She couldn't take her eyes off of the image of Eddie gripping the claw sticking out of his chest in a grotesque manner, and it made her earlier shrieks turn into wheezing and sobs.

_"UH OH!"_ It yelled, very humored by what it had just done as it, very unceremoniously, swung Eddie's body around for everyone to see. It was as if It were treating Eddie like an actual piece of garbage, especially when It threw the man several feet to the left, making Eddie fall down a nearby tunnel.

"NO, EDDIE!" Bill screamed, his voice so hoarse by the time he was done, and Steph could see more tears leaking from his eyes.

"YOU FREAKING MONSTER!" Steph bellowed, her voice coming out croaky and whisper-like, but everyone else could hear her very clearly over all of the commotion. She got up and sprinted towards where Eddie had been tossed aside like he was nothing, Bill not even attempting to stop her. He instead followed her to the tunnel, along with the others, as Steph stumbled towards her best friend, not being able to see through her tears. But she managed to reach him without falling and knelt next to him, seeing that he was lying on his stomach.

Ben approached her and helped her take Eddie by the shoulders and turn him over. "Be careful, be careful," he warned her, and she listened, making sure to be gentle with the wounded man. She laid him on his back and took a good look at his injury; the second she saw it, she felt bile form in the back of her throat, and she was barely able to stop it as she gagged in disgust.

There was an extremely deep wound in the flesh of Eddie's chest. It was heavily oozing out dark, crimson blood and there was a bluish-purple bruise forming around it. Steph bravely reached out her right hand to examine it further, but pulled it back, afraid that she would hurt Eddie more. She could see a tiny bit of his exposed heart, which finally made her vomit everywhere, making sure to turn away from the others. With one violent contraction, more of the food she had eaten the previous night poured from her mouth and thudded against the rocky ground. Steph wiped her mouth, acidic residue forming a shiny patch on her sleeve, and she turned back to the others.

_"COME OUT AND PLAY, LOSERS!"_ It bellowed, using its claws to try and break apart the cave the seven of them were hiding in. Richie shrugged off his jacket and placed it over Eddie's wound in hopes that it would help.

"He's… He's hurt really bad," Richie said in a panicked voice, making Steph turn to him. Her eyes widened when she saw that the man was covered in blood.

_Eddie's blood._

"We have to get him out of here, you guys," Richie added as Eddie started gasping for air. Steph knew that her best friend was being desperate, and she felt the same way, but she knew that it would be impossible to move Eddie without hurting him further.

"How are we supposed to do that, Richie?" she asked in the most raspy voice she had ever used. She cringed in slight pain at how much her throat hurt at that moment, her left hand clutching it for a second. She then saw Ben move away from them, and she knew it was so he could help them find a way out. Steph turned back to Eddie, gently putting a hand on his bandaged cheek as she heard him speak through his blood-soaked lips.

"I almost killed It," he whispered. "In the pharmacy… I felt him shrinking… I made him small…"

Steph hung onto his every word as It kept obliterating the entrance to the tunnel, making her wince and cover Eddie so he wouldn't get hurt more. She pulled back slightly, looking into his dark brown eyes as she absorbed everything he said.

"He seemed so weak…" Eddie continued in a croaky voice. "He seemed so weak…"

And that was when Steph finally understood. If the Ritual of _Chüd_ wouldn't work, then something else could… Something else that could literally reduce It to nothing… Something…

"The Shokopiwah…" Mike spoke up, eerily thinking exactly what Steph was thinking. "'All living things must abide by the laws of the shape they inhabit!'" Steph nodded quickly, agreeing with him instantly, believing him for real this time as she looked at the others. Her confidence slowly began to grow again when she saw them all nod, including Eddie.

"Guys!" Ben called to get their attention, and they turned to him. "There's a passageway through here!" He then pointed down what he was talking about and Steph caught sight of it, slowly perking up. Just then, she saw Beverly's eyes light up in realization.

"The tunnel!" she acknowledged. "Pennywise has to make himself small to get to the entrance of the cavern, right? Okay… So, if we get back there we can force him down to size! We can make him small… Small enough so we can kill him!"

Steph realized that Beverly was actually right, but the redhead also sounded uneasy as she said this. The blonde knew that it had to be done, and fast; if they didn't succeed in killing this monster, all of them were going to die horrible deaths. It sounded like a good way to kill It, and it would be the final thing to put an end to this nightmare once and for all. If Steph was going to get killed trying to finish the evil, then so be it. To be honest, she was ready, but not emotionally prepared enough to fight back immediately.

The area trembled again like an earthquake, the clown still trying to break its way in as It glared at all of them. _"I can smell the stench of your fear!"_ It yelled, snickering as its claws kept penetrating the stone walls blocking the Losers from the danger that awaited them. A little more motivation building inside of Steph, she took a wobbling hand and pointed down the tunnel. "Come on, let's go!" she said quietly, but the others could still hear her and they nodded.

Ben helped Steph off of the ground, as her legs were still shaking from the shock she was going through. Bill and Richie gently grabbed Eddie by both sides and hoisted him up, carrying him as gracefully as possible as they all followed Steph through the passageway that lead around the side of the dome. She could see the demon still where it was earlier, trying its best to plow through the solid surface that had barely saved their lives. Luckily, for all of them, It did not see them as Bill and Richie put Eddie down against a rock, but out of harm's way.

Steph was still trying to figure out what to do, not wanting to leave Eddie's side for what she was sure to be his final moments. She wanted to be there to comfort him and assure him that he would be okay, but she had a feeling deep down inside her that he most likely wouldn't be. And it made the pain envelop her emotions and invade them entirely, and she was barely able to keep them at bay for a while. As she saw the others try to lure the clown to them, she heard Eddie speak again as only she and Richie stayed by his side.

"Richie… I need to tell you something…" he murmured. Steph detected that his energy was slipping by the seconds that were passing, and she didn't know what to do as she saw Richie listening to Eddie intently.

"Yeah, what's up, buddy?" Richie asked him quietly. There was a long silence, a pregnant pause as Steph could see Eddie gathering his last bit of strength to tell Richie the important thing he needed to tell him. Personally, Steph didn't want him to waste it, but she also didn't want to make him irritated. So, she let him speak.

"I… I kissed your mother," Eddie answered and he started to laugh. But when he started choking on the blood building up in his throat, neither Steph nor Richie found the joke funny at all. The blonde woman lowered her head solemnly as she heard the clown chasing the others to where they wanted It to go. She took Eddie's left hand and squeezed it gently to offer him more comfort and solace. She didn't leave to follow the others, staying with Eddie.

Until the very end.

"Steph…"

The woman looked back up at Eddie, seeing his brown eyes locked onto hers as she leaned closer to hear him better. "What is it, Eds?" she asked softly, trying to stay as calm as possible.

"Mike, you got a plan B? What do we do now?!" Ben yelled desperately from behind Steph.

_"Die! That's what you do!"_ It snarled as Steph heard its thudding footsteps, presumably approaching the other four aggressively. She winced, praying that they wouldn't die in their moments of courage; she didn't need to lose anyone else.

"I need… I need you… to promise me something," Eddie whispered so only Steph could hear him. She nodded, tears filling her eyes as she lifted the hand she was holding and pressed it to her right cheek in a consolating manner. She didn't stop nodding her head for several seconds as she stared into his eyes, the vivid blue color that complemented her own offering him more of her assurance.

"Anything, Eddie," she muttered in response.

_"I am the Eater of Worlds!"_ It bellowed, but Steph couldn't see the look of pure rage on the clown's face.

"Not to us you're not," Mike said confidently, making everything, even time itself, fall silent. Steph froze, but not before holding up a finger to make Eddie be quiet for a moment, her ears hearing everything now. She was even sure that her tears stopped flowing for a second as she waited for something else to be said… to slice through the silence and make the quiet disappear for just that moment.

And, luckily for her, Mike broke through the stillness after about ten seconds.

"You're just a clown."

Steph turned around, and not even the flickering lights that dang near blinded her could hide the fact that she saw Its appalled expression at those words. The clown froze, slightly backing away, almost as if It were shocked that Mike would say something like that to it. If she were able to, she would've laughed at the absurdity of it, but she couldn't find the emotional power to do that as she turned back to Eddie.

"Okay, Eds… what do you want me to promise you?" she asked. "You can talk now…" She couldn't hear Eddie, mostly because he didn't speak for a second, but also because he was struggling to get the words out. He was becoming weaker and weaker by the second, and it saddened Steph more and more as each of them passed. But, when he finally did open his mouth again, she leaned closer to hear him better.

"Steph… promise me… that you'll take care of them… be there for them…" Eddie pleaded in a frail voice. "For me…"

More tears cascaded down Steph's face as she pulled back with a sigh. "Eddie, you don't need to waste your energy… just rest for a second, okay? I'll be sure you live, don't worry."

Eddie shook his head, squeezing her right hand that was holding his left. "No…" he choked out. "Just freaking promise me… please take care of them… protect them with all you've got…"

"You're a… a headless boy!" Ben yelled at the clown, and Steph could barely hear It backing away from the four Losers that were facing it fearlessly; she was solely focused on Eddie as she squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to say the dreadful words.

"IMPOSTOR!" Bill screamed at It.

Steph opened her eyes again to look at Eddie, and the look on his face finally made her relent. The sturdy walls around her subconscious crumbled into nothing when she saw the pleading expression in his eyes, and she knew she couldn't refuse him, as much as she truly wanted to. She didn't want to say goodbye, but she knew that time was fast arriving, and it made her sob a little as she finally broke. So, she pried her lips apart and said the words that would ruin her forever:

"I promise…"

Right after she said this, Richie went to go help the others, leaving her alone with Eddie in his final minutes. She sat down next to him and softly put her left arm around his shoulders; she kept letting the tears flow, although she was sure to not let Eddie know this. Her breathing was as calm as she could have it be, but she was wheezing very silently as she watched the other five approach It. To her surprise but elation, the demon was getting smaller and smaller, and she couldn't help but let out a slight laugh.

"You see that, Eddie?" she said proudly, choking back another sob. "They're beating him up…. Eds?"

She looked to her left and saw Eddie's eyes fixed on the floor and they looked vacant and blank. Steph let go of his hand, and it plopped to the ground as she put her free right hand on his bandaged cheek. She turned his head towards her and saw the truth at that moment. It was a revelation that she didn't want to come to terms with at all, and her eyes widened, a small sliver of her sanity gone for a long period of time.

"EDDIE!" she screamed in sorrow, her voice cracking several times in that half a second. She released her arm from around his shoulders, lifting his right hand, and felt that it was still warm, but it was fading very quickly. Eddie's arm was limp and it fell back to the ground like dead weight. Steph sobbed even more, repeating the word, "No," over and over in whimpers; her sadness threatened to take over as she pulled the man into her arms.

"No…" she cried out faintly. "Don't leave me, Eds! Please!" Her body was shaking with each sob she let out, her arms tight around the man as she held him. She couldn't believe what was happening, her

_eyes widening slightly at what she was seeing as she heard Greta exit the pharmacy behind her._

_"Y-Y'all okay?" Bill asked in a kind voice. Steph nodded, the worry in her eyes never dissipating. "We're fine," she replied softly. "What's wrong with you?" she added._

_"None of your business," Stan replied sharply. Steph raised an eyebrow at him, as he had never acted so rude to her in their years of friendship. But Eddie, fortunately, answered her question._

_"There's a kid outside. Looked like someone killed him," he said, panic in his voice._

_Steph gasped. "Is he alright?" she asked. The three boys nodded._

* * *

_Steph, Bill, Beverly, Ben, Richie, Eddie, and Stan biked to Ben's house. Everyone but Stan let their bikes fall and they went inside as the latter put the kickstand on his bike, as expected. When they entered his room, they could see him hastily putting some of his things away. Steph looked at him in amusement, completely relating to him as he shut his closet door._

_"Don't freak out, just tell us," Eddie said, worry evident in his voice. Steph shook her head at this as the others entered the room._

* * *

_"Called it!"_

_"Shut the heck up, Richie!"_

_They pulled away from each other quickly just in time to see someone ducking behind one of Steph's bushes. She laughed as she shouted, "Come on out, boys! You can't hide now!"_

_There was a few seconds of silence before they saw Richie and Eddie step into their view, looking embarrassed. But Richie also looked very smug with himself. "So, I see that Bill gave you a goodnight kiss. Aww!" he teased._

_Steph rolled her eyes playfully. "Beep beep, Richie," she replied simply._

* * *

_"You can't what?" Eddie asked, picking up on Bill's words. Luckily, the two were able to jump apart before he looked at them._

_Bill looked at the germaphobe. "Umm, I s-s-said that I can't un-understand the time t-tr-tr-travel."_

_Eddie chuckled slightly. "It's okay, I can't understand it either," he assured him._

_"Oh, come on!" Steph exclaimed a little louder. "I can perfectly understand it. It's sort of a paradox and…" She thought about it for a minute before shrugging in defeat. "Okay, maybe it doesn't make sense," she admitted._

_All five of them laughed as they turned back to the movie._

Steph's mind couldn't comprehend what she was witnessing as she pulled back a little to look at Eddie's empty eyes. She then leaned forward and gave him a platonic but loving kiss on the forehead. She didn't move for what seemed like forever as her tears dripped onto Richie's jacket that still covered Eddie's wound. And she finally came to accept the horrific and saddening truth:

Eddie Kaspbrak was gone.

For some reason, this heartbreaking fact gave Steph the motivation to stand up and walk over to where the other Losers were, her sadness briefly replaced by blinding rage. She entered the branch-like structure again and saw how small It looked in the form of Pennywise, but it really didn't matter to her. The only two things that resonated in her mind at that very moment were how brave her friends and husband were being together and her longing for revenge. She wanted that freaking monster to pay for killing both Georgie and Eddie… and all of those other kids; to name a few, Betty Ripsom, Matthew Clements, Edward Corcoran, and Veronica Grogan. All she wanted was to pay them respect by killing the demon that had killed them all those years ago.

So, snatching the arm Richie had ripped off of It, Steph raised it above her head and started stabbing, hearing the chanting behind her: "CLOWN! CLOWN! CLOWN!"

Her screams of fury echoed through the lair, bouncing off of the walls and ground and reverberating in everyone else's ears. Over and over again, Steph brought down the clawed arm, making the creature cry out in pain as she did so. She did this dozens of times, these words ejecting from her mouth each time she did so.

"YOU'RE A FREAKING MURDERER! YOU'RE A KILLER! YOU'RE JUST A DUMB FREAKING CLOWN!"

She felt like she wasn't going to stop stabbing It and, to her relief, nobody stopped her at all. The Losers were shocked at how angry she really was, but they just let her pour out her anger to the demon that was cowering in front of them. All the while, they kept chanting and taunting the clown.

"YOU KILLED MY FRIEND, AND NOW WE'RE GOING TO KILL YOU!" Steph bellowed, her courage and rage breaking through her pained vocal chords as she brought down the clawed arm one final time. This time, she made sure to twist the arm so she could deliver more pain to the creature. As she gasped for air, she jerked the arm out of Its torso, tossing it aside, which made her grunt with the effort. Unlike the last time she did something similar to this, she didn't collapse due to exhaustion; instead, she remained standing, glaring at It, a fire kindling in her eyes as another memory pierced her subconscious.

_Then, It turned its head to Steph,_

(you'll float too you'll float too you'll float too YOU'LL FLOAT TOO YOU'LL FLOAT TOO)

_and her eyes widened, knowing what was about to happen with her._

(it's gonna show me my fear again i'm not stupid it's gonna do it again god help me help us make it stop make it freaking stop)

"I've seen your mind, Steph… I know what you're truly afraid of… Losing those that you love… Being alone in this dark and scary world..."

_And Steph's mind was immediately filled with visions of the corpses once more. All of the Losers… Her mother… Her whole family…_

_And, most importantly… Bill…_

"It will come true, Steph… They are all going to die today… And it is all your fault… Because you couldn't protect them..."

_At that moment, something within Steph snapped. She glared at It, a fire kindling in her dark blue eyes. She walked up to the creature as it grinned at her menacingly, the frying pan gripped tightly in her fist._

_"Nobody's going to die today. Do you hear me?_ Nobody! _My friends are right here, by my side. And they are not leaving! We'll never give up. And if they do die, it'll be no one's fault… They're not going to die… But_ you _will!"_

_Steph bellowed in fury, taking her frying pan and hitting the clown a dozen times over the head. The others watched on in shock and pride as she kept beating the life out of It until she had backed it up to a large hole._

_She collapsed from exhaustion, and Bill gently pulled her up as It began whimpering in horror. He looked at the demon, bravery written all over his face now._

_"That's why you didn't kill Steph and Beverly…" he said, finally understanding. "Cause th-th-th-th-they weren't afraid… And we aren't either… Not anymore…"_

_It continued to whimper, finally seeming to give up._

_"Now_ you're_ the one who's afraid… Because you're gonna_ starve_!" he finished, a small smile forming on his face just as Stan handed Steph the pole he had._

_It immediately backflipped into the hole, trying to hold on for dear life._ "'He thrusts his fist against the post...'"

_Steph turned to Bill and held out the pole to him. He took it from her, but as he did, his fingers brushed against hers and lingered there for a moment. Steph closed her eyes and shivers ran up and down her spine at his touch. But it only lasted for a moment as he took his hand off of hers, holding the pole up._

"'...and still insists he see the ghost. He thrusts his fist against the p-p-p-p-post."

_It was now mocking Bill, which made Steph's face contort into an expression of anger just as said boy raised the pole higher._

_It let go and slid further down the hole, still trying to hold on. All of the Losers gathered around the hole's entrance… just as Its head started breaking apart into dust. It stared up at them just as Steph put a hand on Bill's arm, gently forcing him to lower the pole._

_Right at that moment, It finally let go, sinking down into the abyss. But before it did, Steph could have sworn that she heard one final word emit from the demon._

"Fear."

"You're a clown…" Mike said, bringing Steph back to reality. "...with a scared beating heart."

And, sure enough, Steph could hear a heartbeat thunder in her ears; but it wasn't hers. It was the clown's heart, and it made her confidence skyrocket to a new record. She grinned maniacally as she heard the whimpers and whines of It echo in her mind and, if she were able to look at herself in the mirror, she would've thought that she had never looked more insane in her life. She watched as Mike stretched out his hand to where he assumed the heart was, a little understanding at why he was doing it slowly.

This was because, seconds later, It lunged at Mike, making him yell in shock. But It gave up and fell back against one of the alien branches. Mike reached further and started digging his hand into the clown's torso; the entire time, It was trying to hold him back, but was not mentally or physically strong enough to do so. It screamed in pain when the man finally got a hold of his heart and forced it out.

Bill opened his mouth in confusion, but Steph put a hand on his arm to shut him up. He didn't need to ask any questions at a time like this; Steph just needed him to roll with it.

Mike pulled out the heart and held it up to the others, and Steph wasted no time in putting her hand over his. Bill followed suit immediately, as did Beverly, Richie, and Ben. They all held the heart in their hands, ready to destroy it for good. They were all prepared to bring peace back into their lives, to their souls…

And, most importantly, to Derry itself.

_"Look at you…"_

Steph turned and locked eyes with the demon that had tortured her teenage years and had taken away so much of her innocence. The demon that took away her husband's little brother, all those kids, and her best friend. Knowing this fact filled her with more hatred and loathing as she saw It laugh proudly.

_"You're all grown up."_

The blonde woman chuckled a little, her eyes burning with revulsion as she turned to the others. Steph nodded once, as did the others, and she squeezed her right hand tightly around the quickening beating heart. Her husband and her best friends followed her movements, crushing the organ with their bare hands, a new hint of courage consuming them as they did so. The whole ordeal was silent, as it rightfully should have been, and Steph felt the weight of the world being lifted off of her shoulders and the terror she had sensed leaving her heart.

They opened their hands after it was all over, and the blood lifted from them and the Deadlights began to fade to blackness above them. Steph turned back to the monster that had ruined her childhood and saw a satisfying sight.

It was crumbling into dust, just like it did 27 years ago; but, this time, its whole form was dissolving into nothing, and another smirk etched slowly into Steph's face at what she was looking at. She closed her eyes in contentment, sighing with relief.

It was over.

It was finally _freaking_ over.

The blood oath that the eight members of the Losers club created was fulfilled once and for all.

It was finished… for good.

The second this piece of information settled inside the six Losers that remained, all of them felt some sort of peace as they embraced one another. Bill immediately went to Steph and threw his arms around her. She hugged him back tighter than ever, and she couldn't help but giggle slightly when her husband's arms encircled her waist and she was lifted off of the ground. It made her cling to him more fiercely, not wanting to let him go in her moments of solace; she buried her face into the crook of his neck as she combed her fingers through his hair.

They then pulled apart, Bill still holding Steph a few feet off of the ground. They stared into each other's eyes, forgetting everything that was going on around them for just a moment in their victory. Steph rested her forehead on Bill's, their breaths mingling with each other as they closed their eyes.

"I love you so much," murmured Steph, finally registering the presence of their friends behind them; she could honestly care less about that for the time being.

"I love you, too," Bill whispered in response; and they did nothing else but hold one another, even if it was just for a minute. They were lost in each other, just like they were all those years ago when they were in Steph's house and dancing.

"Eddie…" Richie said, concern lacing his voice. "Eddie…" He then moved away from briskly and walked back to where Eddie was lying. Tears immediately clouded Steph's vision again as Bill gently lowered her back to the ground. Despite this, he draped his right arm around her shoulders while he helped her walk on her injured left leg.

"What's wrong?" he asked her. She looked at him as she sniffed, but instantly looked back down, feeling guilt consume her.

"I… I couldn't save him…" she whimpered, a sob escaping her lips as she rested her head on his shoulder. "It's my fault…"

Bill shook his head, tilting her chin up so she could face him. "It is _not_ your fault if he's gone," he demanded. "Do you hear me? _None_ of this is your fault. Don't blame yourself!" Steph stared at him in shock for a split second before relenting and nodding. She had the sense that his stutter was finally gone and, although a part of her missed it, she was comforted by that fact.

"Eddie?"

Steph looked in Richie's direction, seeing him kneeling in front of Eddie, trying to get his attention. A long moment of silence made the blonde woman unable to prevent more tears from flowing, but another thing made her look up.

Not only was the branch-like structure falling apart…. The entire room was presumably destroying itself. Her grief and sadness was temporarily replaced by determination. Determination to get her husband and friends out of there as fast as possible.

"Richie…" she murmured, but her hoarse voice was barely audible.

"He's gone…" Bill choked out, and Steph could tell he was starting to cry as well. She turned to him, and her suspicions were confirmed after one look; it made her sigh in distress as she looked at Richie again, her heart breaking at how desperate he was sounding.

"No, he's fine," Richie said frantically. "We gotta get him out of here. I need help, guys." At his tone of voice, it was difficult for Steph to breathe through her tears, but she was somehow able to. He sounded so worried, and it killed her internally and she wanted to die right there. But she knew that she had to pull him away from Eddie.

"Richie…" Beverly muttered, her voice cracking and slightly muffled because of her own tears. There was another pregnant pause, where everyone was frozen as everything around them broke and snapped apart.

Richie then finally turned to Beverly. "What?" he said bitterly, his tone one of extreme irritation as he spoke the word.

"Honey, he's dead," replied Beverly as she sobbed. Even though those words were the final nail in the coffin, Steph was focused and a new wave of bravery swam through her heart as she reached her arms out to Richie. "We have to go," she whispered to him.

"We gotta go, Richie," Bill said, doing the same thing Steph was doing as the woman saw Richie hug Eddie, not wanting to let him go.

"Come on, we gotta go, man!" Ben yelled. "Let him go!"

"No… no, no, we can still help him, guys! We can still help him!" Richie screamed, struggling against Bill and Mike as they pulled him away from Eddie's corpse. As they ran out of the room, Steph soared one last glance at her best friend before leaving him to stay in his permanent tomb.

_I'm so sorry, Eddie. I hope you are resting peacefully,_ she thought to herself sadly as she went through the passageway with the others.

Mike climbed up the hole the came down from first, throwing open the circular door and jumping out. He extended a hand to Steph and she took it instantly so he could pull her up, before helping him pull Bill out seconds later. The three of them pulled Beverly, Ben, and a fighting Richie out of the hole and they all jumped back into the sewer water as stones and garbage splashed into the water. Steph had to cover her head multiple times to avoid getting hit by random things that fell.

All six of them ran through the sewer tunnels, screaming at each other to hurry and to catch up. Steph grabbed Bill's hand and pulled him along, urging him to run faster, and he did what she said.

Somehow, they were all able to climb out of the well when they got there, Bill helping Steph as they did. He held her close to him as they ran through the hallways of Neibolt house, dust and rocks flying behind the six. Rooms started to explode into nothing, making them more set on getting out quickly. Another eruption of wood and rubble blew through the entry hall and it missed Steph by millimeters; if it didn't, she would've died on impact.

After multiple more explosions, the six of them finally got out of Neibolt house, Richie and Ben being the last of them. They raced to the street ahead of them, stopping there for a few seconds before turning around to view the house that was literally collapsing in front of them, making Steph's jaw drop.

"No, no! EDDIE!" screeched Richie, trying to go back inside the now destroyed house, but both Ben and Mike held him back. Steph started sobbing loudly at how distressed and panicked Richie was sounding at that very moment. Bill pulled her to him and ran his hands over her back to comfort her as her body shook.

"We gotta get in there and get him, _he's still in there!_" Richie cried out, still struggling against Mike and Ben. Steph cried even more, now screaming as more tears left her eyes, knowing that Richie's pleads were going to echo throughout her soul forever.

"EDDIE! _EDDIE!_" Richie bellowed one final time in pure grief.

* * *

**A/N: Well... okay... I can deal with it, I'm tough... I don't cry, I don't cry... I DO CRY SOMETIMES! *cries hysterically until the end of time***

**So, anyway... THAT was emotional! I hate the fact that Eddie died, mostly because... you know.**

**RICHIE AND EDDIE FOREVER! REDDIE! R + E! Sorry, I'll calm down now.**

**So, thoughts on this chapter? Did you cry or not? Let me know! Was it emotional?**

**There will be three more chapters after this one, so just letting you guys know!**

**Once again, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Gotta go try and win that horror trivia as well as write the next chapter! Have a great day, and until next time!**

**\- Hermione Romanoff**


	12. It's My Fault

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC!**

**A/N: I'm gonna upload this early as well! Why not?! It's Valentine's Day and there is a sweet scene between our favorite couple in this chapter, so might as well!**

**Anyways, Happy Valentine's Day everybody! Hope you guys are going to have a great one! I'm gonna be spending it by watching horror movies, because I'm single and alone! Hey, I'm happy that way, so don't feel sorry for me! What are you guys planning on doing for this 'special' day? Let me know! I'll be watching the 'My Bloody Valentine' movies tonight after school!**

**By the way, this may be the longest chapter of all of them, which really surprised me! Hope you enjoy it regardless!**

_**SuperSentai199: Yeah, I know... ;( Richie and Eddie would have been the perfect couple! I'm sad that never happened. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

_**MusicLover14: PLZ PLZ PLZ make an email account! I would love to PM you because we need to be friends! Also, your review on the tenth chapter: you heard breathing in your closet?! I bet it was Michael Myers paying you an early visit before Halloween! MWAHAHAHAH! Glad you love that sentence you pointed out! And yes, Queen Emily! I need to get going with writing the fifth chapter of that story lol And I'm sorry for making you cry again! Also, you forgot a pairing: Stell (Steph and Bill)! I still haven't seen Bird Box lol Your reviews aren't too long! They make my day, so I don't care! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

_**MissBeckyJolene: I'm sorry for making you cry, but I believe it was supposed to do that, like the movie did. :'( Hope you enjoy this chapter! And your last sentence... PLEASE tell me you don't mean what I think you mean lol I wish you would specify.**_

_**Connie Hooper: I'm glad you loved it! My heart is hurting for Steph as well... :( Eddie did deserve to live, he was so brave! And I can't wait to see how you write that part in your story! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

_**robinmuffins: Thank you! It was tough for me to write because it was emotional! Lol I cry all the time at sad movies XD! And you are right, that is the good part. And it warms my heart that you wanna binge read this again, but go work on your story, because I wanna read more lol Hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

**_.2019: Thank you!_**

**_Special thanks to SuperSentai199, MusicLover14, MissBeckyJolene, NymphadoraBlackMalfoy,_** **_Connie Hooper, robinmuffins, Tiger2014, .2019, and ArkhamAsylumPatient_** **_for either leaving a review or favoriting/following the last chapter!_**

**Now, without further ado, here is the twelfth (and MAYBE emotional) chapter! Happy Valentine's Day, guys!**

* * *

**_Chapter Twelve_**

The six remaining Losers strolled up to a metal fence after walking through the woods for a little while. Bill and Steph's filthy hands were connected, and she was running a finger over his wedding ring, something that provided her a bit of comfort. As she took a small glance around them, she noticed that a part of the Barrens actually looked very different then it did 27 years before.

But that was all the way in the past… that was 1989; they were now in 2016, and they couldn't go back, even if they wanted to for just a second.

Most of the shrubbery and leaves behind them were either demolished or torn from the ground during reconstruction of the town. There was now a small clearing that led up to the edge of the cliff…

The cliff that the then eight Losers had leaped off of so long ago.

Steph looked forward again, reading the red words on the sign in front of her that said, 'NO JUMPING OR DIVING AT ANYTIME.' She secretly thought that they weren't going to listen to the sign, and she felt the others were thinking the same thing. She stared into the blue-green waters that awaited them below. She needed to get the dirt, dust, and sewer waters cleansed and washed away from her and this would help it slightly. She glanced at the others and saw how filthy they were, especially Beverly with blood covering most of her face.

So, Steph climbed over the metal rod fence and her feet hit the ground with a light _thud_. She kicked her shoes off and removed her ruined socks, taking those and throwing them into the distance. She then gently slipped off her long-sleeved shirt, leaving a black tank top underneath. She turned around and saw Beverly climb over the fence after her and take her own shoes off and, soon enough, the others started to follow. She let her best friend go in front of her and the other four gathered around them.

Beverly took a deep breath and ran for the edge of the cliff, while the other five watched her. The redhead soared off of the cliff before landing in the water with a splash. Steph locked eyes with Bill for a second before

_she jumped into the water after her best friend. _

"_What the heck?!" Richie yelled out as she flew through the air, before feeling herself descend towards the water. She hit the surface and felt herself sink under before ascending back up. Steph then looked up, smiling at all of the boys staring down at her and Beverly, dumbfounded. "Come on!" she called out._

_She could see Bill smile at her from that distance and felt her stomach erupt with butterflies. He then jumped in seconds after Steph did._

_They later found themselves splashing each other in the water. Steph laughed hysterically when Richie and Beverly were trying to see which one could push the other into the water._

"_I already won! We already won!" Richie shouted gleefully. He was able to push Beverly off of Bill's shoulders and into the water with a yelp. "They're down! Yes!"_

_Steph kept laughing until Bill turned to her. "C-Come here! Your turn!" he told her, bravely grabbing her hands and pulling her in the direction of the victorious Richie._

"_Bill, no! I'm not gonna win!" she shouted in mock anger. She screamed in shock and glee when Bill hoisted her onto his shoulders. Her heart thumped in her chest but her happiness made her ignore her brief nervousness. She was able to be victorious over Richie, which made him scream at her in mock rage, and she grinned at him like a child._

"You know…" Ben spoke up, making Steph turn to look at him with interest. "Eddie would've hated this, guys…"

A small smile graced Steph's facial features as she looked at Ben. She thought about it and he was completely right. Eddie would've despised it if he saw them doing this right now.

It had been about fifteen minutes since the six of them had jumped into the water at the quarry and most of the grime and sewer water was now cleaned off of them all. Steph felt that when she had jumped into the water 27 years ago, she was escaping her innocence and purity; although, she didn't feel that entirely. Now, she felt like she was escaping the pain and sadness for just a little while. And, as she started at Ben for just a second, she felt more amusement than grief.

"What?" Bill asked, his eyes squinted in confusion. "Cleaning ourselves in dirty water?"

Ben sighed humorously. "Yeah," he said, and everybody chuckled a little. Steph's small smile grew into a slight grin that faded away seconds later. Luckily for her, nobody noticed this.

"Yeah," she added, "he would be telling us that we would get some sort of disease or something."

Bill nodded. "Like a staph infection," he said as a last resort, and Steph giggled. "I remember you telling me about that," she replied.

There was a small moment filled with laughter as they looked at each other; all the while, Steph observed Richie for a few seconds, regarding how quiet he was during their banter. She understood why, though. He was still getting over the shock and trauma that he had just gone through, so she instantly felt sympathy for him. This was especially due to the fact that she could just barely catch a glance at the blood that was splattered onto Richie's glasses, and it made her grimace in sorrow.

"Yeah, but he would've made us laugh, though," said Mike, and Steph nodded.

"Oh, yeah," Beverly responded, nodding with a smile.

"He would've been looking out for us…" Bill said solemnly, before looking away for a moment. "...the way he _always_ was…"

Steph looked down for a long minute, reflecting on those words, and it made her heart sink in misery. But her face remained blank as she thought this, although the others could covertly sense her depression. She squeezed her eyes shut, and hid her emotions from the others, not knowing that they could feel what she felt.

"Isn't that right, Richie?" asked Bill. No response.

The first thing Steph could hear that followed this question was the sound of weeping.

Richie's weeping.

She turned to look at him, and her heart broke at what she saw. She was able to see tears dripping from the man's eyes. She could subconsciously feel the walls that held Richie up emotionally break just like that. Moment by moment, she saw the tears fall down his stubbly cheeks and all she wanted was to go over to him and hug him. So she did.

"Hey," Beverly said softly, going over to him as well.

Steph was the first to reach him, and she did the unbelievable action of wrapping her arms around Richie, the friend that was the complete opposite of herself. She hugged him to her just as she felt the presence of the others around her as they also embraced Richie in a group hug. Richie laid his forehead on her shoulder as he sobbed quietly, his cries breaking Steph's heart dozens and dozens of times. She platonically ran her right hand through his black hair, hoping that it would comfort the man in her arms.

She couldn't believe that she was doing this. It was the first time that Steph had comforted Richie in a very long time; it honestly felt like forever ago, now that she thought about it. It made her nearly smile, but she held it back, as this was no time to be happy whatsoever.

Richie sobbed into her shoulder, his right hand holding her left and free one as tightly as possible; Steph didn't mind at all, resting her head on top of Richie's. She and the others held him in silence, and she didn't even notice his tears soaking a strap of her already submerged tank top. It was a long time until Richie finally pulled away, looking at the others. It was one of the only times Steph had seen him without his glasses and he looked very different.

"Thank you," he said in a choked up voice before sniffing. Steph nodded in reassurance. "I don't have my glasses on, so I don't know who you people are, but thank you…"

Steph laughed a little, playfully smacking his arm. "You're a freaking jerk, you know that?" she said jokingly, and his head bobbed up and down as he smiled. She could hear the others chuckling around her.

"I really legit can't find my glasses," Richie said, and Steph raised her eyebrows at his serious tone.

"Are you serious?" Beverly asked in disbelief.

That was when they pulled away from Richie and they started looking for the man's glasses. Steph stayed with Richie, putting a consoling arm around his shoulders. Bill looked at her for a moment, and they locked eyes. They smiled at one another before Bill leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. He then turned around, diving into the water to search for Richie's missing glasses.

"Wow, never thought _you_ of all people would be here holding me like a mother does to their child," deadpanned Richie through the last of his tears. Steph nodded as she giggled slightly.

"Well, here I am," she replied sarcastically, patting him on the shoulder lightheartedly.

There was a long moment of peaceful silence as Steph looked in the direction of Ben and Beverly. Both of them were looking in a particular spot in the water right before the latter pushed Ben under, and she followed. Steph chortled a little before the smile left her face; she then looked at Bill, who was looking in the same direction she herself had gazed at. She saw a look of hilarity flash across his face before he continued his search.

Steph then looked back at Richie, seeing him staring down into the water that reached their chests. "Are you done crying?" she asked gently. He nodded a little, not looking at her. But a bewildered expression formed on his face immediately afterwards. "I'm a little surprised that _you're_ not crying," he said in a small voice, and she shrugged.

"I can save that for later," she replied, her voice raspy and hoarse again. "You need me right now and I'm not going to act like a baby while I comfort you, okay?"

Richie nodded again, lowering his head. Steph reached her other arm to him. "Come here, let me hug you again," she demanded playfully. The man obeyed and he embraced her, resting his head on her shoulder. She patted his back to soothe him, staring into the green trees that surrounded them.

Little did she know that Bill was staring at her with a look of amazement on his face. He was so proud of his wife because of how emotionally strong she was being around them. He sensed that she would finally let all of her sadness out later, and when she did, he would be there to support her and hug her until the end of time. He always would be.

And that was because he loved her. Heck, he loved her so much; he dang well treasured her, and he thought the world of her every single day. And he would until the day he took his last breath.

* * *

About an hour later, the six adults finally entered the town of Derry again. They approached the street that led to the town square, all of them beyond exhausted and famished. Steph noticed that Ben and Beverly had been holding hands and she smiled at them, although they didn't notice; she was walking beside Bill, their arms around each other's waists as they took each step. Well, Steph limped due to the wound in her leg and her husband, although he didn't know how she got hurt, helped her move forward.

Steph looked at the buildings neighboring them as they strolled down the street, the sun high in the sky and shining down upon them. She finally felt a sense of solitude overcome her and carry the fear and uneasiness away into the back of her mind. She closed her eyes from the tranquility that washed over her as peace settled inside of her.

"Hey, guys!"

Steph turned around and looked at Beverly, who was staring at her left hand for a very long bit. But a look of slight surprise formed on her face when the redhead turned the hand around for everyone to see. "Look," Bev added. And Steph looked at her own left palm.

No scar. It was now gone and it didn't need to be there anymore.

The blood oath had been fulfilled, and it was over.

"Nothing lasts forever," Mike said in a low voice and Steph found herself nodding as she stared at the perfectly intact skin of her left hand. She also fiddled with the ring that sat on her ring finger, seeing the diamond glittering in the light of day.

She suddenly had the impulsion to look up and in front of her and she gasped slightly; her eyes didn't widen, but the feeling of shock entered her mind. Steph laid her head on Bill's shoulder, moving her arm to grab his hand and he squeezed it tightly, intertwining their fingers together. She stared into the window of the store in front of all of them and saw a sight she was sure she would never see in her memory again.

It wasn't the six of them as adults at all.

It was the _eight_ of them as teenagers, staring back at them. Steph remembered that it was right after she had been released from the hospital and they were walking to their homes. Just like in the present, her past self had her head on a teenage Bill's shoulder and she was holding his hand the exact same way.

_"You know that you're pretty dang lucky you were able to shower in the hospital before your mom showed up," Steph spoke up, raising her head from Bill's shoulder to look at Eddie with a smirk on her face. The other boy shrugged._

_"Yeah…" he replied. "If I didn't, she would've killed me."_

_Richie scoffed. "Dude, you were gone for 24 straight hours… your face would've definitely been on a milk carton if we didn't get out of there sooner. And plus… that vomit on you smelled like your mom's slippers!"_

_Steph rolled her eyes, giving the boy with the glasses a glare. "Oh, shut up, Richie…" she sighed, pulling Bill behind her as they started walking again. Her then best friend and crush didn't bring his bicycle that day, instead opting to politely walk her home, and she didn't mind. And, as they continued strolling ahead of the others, their hands were still intertwined. Steph couldn't help but giggle when she heard Eddie explain to Richie what his mother's slippers actually smelled like._

_"No, they don't," Stan dismissed with a shake of his head. Eddie glared at him in skepticism._

_"Yes, they do," he snapped back. "And, also, how would you know what they smell like?!"_

_Mike chuckled a little. "Guys, can we keep it down until we head home?" he asked politely, but he failed to make Eddie and Stan cease their arguing. All the while, during the banter that was going on behind them, Bill and Steph looked at one another for a few seconds that felt like it would be permanent and it would last forever. At the time, neither of them knew that they would start dating within the next few weeks, or that they would get married in the seven years that would follow; this was because they, unbeknownst to the other, were very naive about what they felt for one another._

Steph closed her eyes and turned away, unable to hide the pain any longer. She could only prevent her emotions from taking over for a certain amount of time before she finally broke. She took a deep breath, rubbing her left hand over her forehead and squeezing her eyes even more tightly before reopening them. She locked eyes with Bill and he instantly knew what she wanted.

She wanted to get back to the townhouse as quickly as possible. And she wanted him to walk her back.

So, he nodded and gently pulled her along with him down the street. Steph made sure to stay close to him the entire walk back, and it was only so she didn't lose her mind right there in the middle of town. If she did, either people were going to call her crazy or they would throw her in an asylum. She honestly wouldn't mind if either happened to her right now, since _those_ people didn't know that she had just been through a traumatic experience and that she lost one of her best friends. It really angered her that people didn't realize the horrors that had taken place in Derry for God knows how long and that they just ignored it like it was nothing.

Oh well. At least all the kids that had gone missing and had gotten killed were now avenged, and it was a huge relief to Steph. But that was not enough to distinguish the guilt in her heart; the guilt that would stay inside of her for months and months to follow. And she felt as if she truly wanted to die, but she was sure to not tell the others until the time was right. When that moment came, she would be able to tell any of her friends.

Steph had her eyes locked on the ground and she walked, watching both of her feet be put in front of the other, and she didn't know how long she did this. But she eventually looked up and saw, to her slight relaxation, the townhouse come into her view. It was at that moment that she realized that she was actually dying for a shower; she desperately needed to get the rest of the filth off of her soft skin and her hair. Oh, God… her hair… That was going to be a freaking challenge to clean, and she wanted to groan in frustration so badly. But, instead, she stayed silent as she and Bill approached the front doors of the building.

A few seconds later, Bill opened one of the doors for her, and Steph turned around for a second to be sure that the others were behind them. They were about to enter the building as well, and she nodded to herself before stepping inside.

At last, the other four followed the married couple inside, and they all separated when they got upstairs. Bill pulled Steph to the side and leaned closer to her. "Go ahead and use the shower in our bathroom," he murmured to her. "I'll use another one, okay?" The blonde woman nodded and their connected hands fell apart as she entered their room, gently shutting the door behind her. She stared at the slightly wrecked room from where Henry had attacked her the day before.

She sighed before moving forward, limping over to where one of the lamps laid on the floor. She tentatively picked it up and placed it back on the nightstand before looking at the damaged drawer that belonged to the dresser that resided on the side of the room. She chuckled just a tiny bit, remembering how she had literally shattered the wood over Bowers's head.

_Points for originality go to me,_ she thought humorously as she glanced out the window.

It truly looked beautiful and calm outside today. It was the perfect weather for the victory of the Losers' Club, and it assured her that it was truly over for good. But that did very little to replace the other emotion she was currently feeling.

She walked towards the bathroom door, but not before grabbing another set of clean clothes. She entered the bathroom and shut the door, locking it. She set her clothes down on the sink and looked at herself in the mirror, her grimy face with the vivid blue eyes staring back very eerily.

There were still a few bits of dirt and grime that covered Steph's face, but thankfully not too much. There was a spot of blood on her right temple from where she had been knocked out just a few hours ago, and it was just a tiny gash that had healed throughout the night. She was pretty lucky in that regard. Her blonde hair was a tangled and soaked mess, and it was also filthy as heck. It made her cringe in disgust. But one thing was for sure: this reflection in particular would always be a reminder for what she had gone through in just one night.

She then lifted her right arm and saw the bandage wrapped around it. It honestly made her heart sink just by looking at it.

_Eddie wrapped that up for me,_ came a thought that echoed through her mind and she could almost hear it, if she were honest.

She gently grabbed the tape and peeled it off of the gauze; it hurt a little as it pulled at her arm hairs, but she was able to remove it as carefully as possible. Steph grimaced a little at the blood that surrounded the small cut on her forearm, but she relaxed when she saw that the crimson substance was surprisingly dry. Eddie patched her arm up very well, if that was the case.

And that was when Steph removed her disgusting clothes from her body, starting with her still soaked tank top; when she and Bill had come inside, she had thrown her shirt in the trash. She then slipped off her blue jeans, tossing the clothes to the side and they handed softly on the tiled floor. She then looked down at her left leg, seeing yet another bandage, this time from where Bowers had dang near murdered her. She sat down on the toilet and carefully moved that gauze as well, seeing more dried up blood around the small cut. She was very relieved that the wounds weren't enough for her to take a trip to the hospital.

Steph then stood back up and took off her undergarments, throwing them on the dirty pile of clothes in the corner of the bathroom. She then walked over to the bathtub and turned the handle of the faucet to the left. Immediately, water poured from the showerhead and splattered against the bottom of the tub. Steam filled the room very quickly, and Steph softly pulled the hair band that held her blonde head of hair off and lazily threw it in the trash can behind her. Her hair, very unsatisfyingly, fell back down and hit her back.

After running both of her hands through it twice, she stepped into the shower, pulling the curtain in front of her to hide her from everything else around her. And, although she felt a little lonely, she felt the need to be isolated from the world for just a little while.

The water cascaded down onto Steph's skin, dripping by her side as it heated her entire body. She grabbed a bottle of shampoo and poured a handful of it into her left palm. Ignoring the pain in her right arm, she started lathering the liquid into her revolting and stinking hair.

For nearly half an hour, Steph stood in the shower, absorbing the blistering hot water as she scrubbed the sewer water, dust, and blood off of her being. She felt as if she were physically washing the events of the night before away, but she knew that she mentally and emotionally wasn't. It would never disappear from her memory. Ever.

After what seemed like an eternity, she finally turned off the water that was starting to turn cold. Steph remained standing there for a long minute, hugging her arms to herself as she started to shiver. She then pulled the curtain back open, and she saw the fogged up mirror as she stepped out onto the tiled floor. She briefly examined her wounds, and was relieved to see that they were now scabs, so she didn't have to put more gauze on them. They would heal eventually… and leave scars…

She took a towel and roughly ran it over her hair before drying her skin off as well. Afterwards, she grabbed her clean clothes and delicately pulled them on, and she felt more comfortable. She felt refreshed and cleansed from the horrors of the night before… but not completely. It would never be completely gone from her mind.

She walked over and grabbed the filthy clothes, placing them in the trash as well, before opening the bathroom closet and flinging the towel into the laundry basket. She closed the closet door before leaning her forehead against the wood, her hands clenched into fists by her face. She thought about Eddie again and, as much as she didn't want to let it happen, she started losing control.

"It's my fault," she growled to herself angrily. "It's my fault… God…" Her body shook and trembled in rage and grief as she started slamming her fists against the door violently. She even hit her head on the wood a few times, not caring how much it hurt. "IT'S _MY_ FREAKING FAULT!" she cried out furiously.

She pushed herself off of the door and barrelled out of the bathroom, nearly stumbling into the doorway as she stomped over to the bed and plopped down onto the bed; the stress was too much for the middle-aged woman as she did so. Everything that had just occurred in the past several hours - nearly getting killed a few times, the illusion she suffered through, Eddie's death, Richie's grief - had all happened way too fast, and it hit Steph like a freight train at high speed. She buried her face in her hands as the tears flowed once more, finally succumbing to her emotions for the first time since arriving back in Derry.

The world turned into a blur, as did all of the sounds. The smell… the taste… everything was just gone in that one moment. It all started with a lone tear, and just like that, the floodgates opened. So many tears burst forth like water from a dam, spilling down Steph's face. Her chin quivered as if she were a small child again. She breathed heavier than she ever had before. She was gasping for air that simply wasn't there anymore, and her throat closed and burned, trying to form a silent scream. Secretly, it felt good to Steph to finally let all of her anger and grief out in one go.

She wasn't expecting the things that ended up happening to actually happen, and she knew that she was still suffering from that shock, not knowing how she would move on. She started sobbing even more as she raked her fingers through her wet and clean blonde hair; she squeezed her eyes shut as she did this. She had never cried so much in a very long time, and she was finally letting it all out. For a moment, she didn't know if she would stop crying, and she honestly wouldn't mind if she didn't.

"You know, I would love to hold you right now, but I'm afraid you're going to punch me if I bother you."

Steph hesitantly looked up a little, turning her head towards where the sudden voice was coming from. Her body still shook just a bit as she stared at the person in the doorway, her heart rate starting to pick up speed out of anxiety.

Bill was standing there, having just gotten cleaned up himself, leaning against the doorframe with a sympathetic look in his eyes as he looked directly at Steph. She could tell that he wanted to do help her in some way, _any_ way; but she felt that she wouldn't be comforted that easily.

"You here to tell me to quit crying?" she asked in a snarky voice, her voice still hoarse as she looked away from Bill. She couldn't bear to face him like this, ashamed of how she was acting in front of him. She looked really ridiculous and stupid, she felt like a five-year-old as she sat there, crying her eyes out. But, at the same time, this was the moment that she felt truly alone.

"No," replied Bill, his tone patient, "I'm here to comfort you…" This answer made Steph sigh audibly, and she covered her face with her hands once more. Of course he would respond like that; her husband always said that to her when she was distressed.

"_Clearly_, I'm perfectly fine," she lied through her teeth, not looking up anymore. The tears kept flowing, but she was more quiet about it than she was a few seconds ago. She still felt the sorrow, the dejection, the misery… It just wouldn't go away and it was a burden on her mental state. The emotions that stayed in her heart wouldn't allow her to look up when she heard footsteps approaching her. She inhaled a quivering breath when she felt a pair of hands pull hers off of her face; she kept her eyes closed despite this, her head still lowered. But that didn't last for very long, as Bill gently tilted her chin back up so she was practically forced to look at him. After a very long five seconds, Steph finally opened her eyes.

"No, you're not," Bill whispered, his eyes holding several emotions that not even Steph could comprehend. "I know when something's wrong, _especially_ when you're like this…" He then put his gentle hands on her cheeks, tenderly wiping the tears away with his thumbs. "Now tell me… what is it?"

Steph closed her eyes again. She couldn't believe he was making her feel this way; even after 27 years of being together and 20 of those years being married, she was still unconditionally in love with Bill Denbrough. Every time he did something like this or pretty much anything, she would always act like a teenager on the inside. This time was no different, as she could feel butterflies in her stomach currently. But she was also hesitant to talk… she almost didn't want to tell him the truth about what she was feeling. But she knew that he was waiting for an answer, and she would have to give it to him sooner or later.

Meanwhile, Bill was sitting on his knees, holding his wife's kind and perfect face in his hands. He was patiently waiting for Steph to speak again, and he perfectly understood why she was reluctant to speak; he had been when she had comforted him all those years ago after Georgie went missing. He remembered that moment, and that might have been the day when his feelings for her had started. Of course, he didn't realize it at the time, since he didn't know what it was. Well… he now knew, and he was happy that he did.

An excruciating minute passed as the two sat in silence, one waiting for the other to talk. And, finally, after an eternity, Steph opened her mouth and began to explain everything to him…. And it wasn't just about Eddie….

"I used to have nothing but a mother to look after me…" she started. "But, because of her… _illness_… I was the one having to take care of her. She told me that she didn't want me having to do that all the time, that she wanted me to go out and make friends. But I just wasn't able to do that. Mom was so important to me that my need to take care of her became… very out of hand… Do you understand what I mean?"

Bill nodded, staying respectfully silent as she continued.

"Well… because of that, I gained a reputation at school. I was known as -"

"'The Mute Girl,'" Bill finished for her, lowering his head in concern before meeting her eyes again. Steph didn't glare at him; she instead gave him a small smirk as she said, "You remember."

Bill's head bobbed up and down again, his eyes not leaving hers. "I do," he replied. "And I heard everything about that… the rumors… people called you a ghost. I'm not gonna lie… I hadn't even met you at the time, but that really ticked me off. I always heard that you were quiet, that you didn't speak to anyone. But it really interested me, to tell you the truth."

Steph scoffed lightly at this. "I always interested people, but they never tried to be friends with me. The first person that even _attempted_ to try was Beverly, and that worked really quickly…. Do you remember that I met Eddie before you guys?"

Bill didn't nod immediately; instead, his eyes widened slightly as he pondered it. "I didn't until just now, but I do," he said. Steph sighed as she began to tell him, the memory very vivid in her mind.

_"Where do you think you're going, brace-face?"_

_A ten-year-old Steph swiftly turned her head around to see where the voice had come from, pulling her backpack closer to herself as she scanned her surroundings. She didn't have to look for very long, however, as her eyes landed on the source of the voice. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers as she froze for a second; she knew that she had to get away as quickly as possible, or at least get someone else's attention._

_But, as she started to move faster, she bumped into someone else. She jumped and twisted around to see Henry Bowers standing there; she remained silent, but she didn't even get the chance to run as he grabbed a fistful of her short blonde hair and pulled her a few feet to the right._

_"You walking home all by yourself, Mute Girl?" Bowers taunted as he let her go, making her stumble a little. Steph's blue eyes that weren't quite vivid yet glared up at the older bully. It had been around this time that she had lost her fear of him and his gang, and she always showed her bravery when she had the chance. Even if nobody was going to save her, this time was no different._

_"Yeah, I am," she retorted. "What's it to you? The fact that you guys are jerks and won't leave people alone for one second? Is that it?"_

_Henry cackled along with the others. "So the ghost _does_ have a voice!" he exclaimed sarcastically. "Ha, never would've noticed! Well, let's see if we can get you to talk more!" He then grabbed Steph by the wrist and held it tightly to the point that he might've left bruises. She didn't make a sound, but her eyes pierced into the older boy's soul as she was dragged towards a private spot near the school, most likely so he could call her awful names and hit her again; he had done this dozens of times, and she hardly cared anymore. She just took it and took it without saying a word._

_"Let go of her, Bowers!"_

_Steph swerved her head around right as she was about to disappear behind the school, her arm still in Henry's grasp. She looked ahead to see a boy that was a little shorter than her; he had ordinary, brown hair and what seemed to be brown eyes. They were normally kind and gentle eyes, but they held a fierce scowl as he looked at the boy that had her trapped._

_Bowers scoffed, still not letting go of her as he gave the boy a look of disbelief. "What are you gonna do about it, Kaspbrak?!" he fired back, an evil sneer on his face. "Look at you, you're so small that I could literally beat you up just like that!" He then snapped his fingers with his free hand._

_"Not today, jerk!" retorted the Kaspbrak kid. "Now freaking let her go on her way and leave her alone!"_

_Steph had heard all about this boy, mostly from the whispers going on about him around the school. He was the hypochondriac that they spoke about; the small boy with the crazy and overprotective mother that very rarely let her son out of the house, unless it was to go to school. To be honest, she felt major sympathy for the kid, and she was even proud of him for being brave; but she had been sure that not even a boy like him would stand up for her. She secretly believed that she didn't need any saving, but she would come to be wrong in the years that followed._

_And, right now, face to face with a surprisingly courageous Eddie Kaspbrak, she saw this as an opportunity to get back at Bowers and give him a little bit of comeuppance._

_"And what are you gonna do if I don't?!" taunted Bowers, his fingers starting to dig into Steph's skin, which was something that annoyed her to no end. She was about to open her mouth to bring her own words into this confrontation, but before she could, a new voice arrived._

_"Wuh-We'll have something to say ab-about it!"_

_Steph glanced up and saw three other boys approach her and Bowers and they all stood behind Eddie. They looked ready for a fight if it were going in that direction. She recognized all of them instantly: the Jewish boy, Stan Uris; the jokester that often did terrible voices that she herself had heard, Richie Tozier; and, last but not least, the Denbrough kid, the boy that often stuttered, although she didn't know his first name at all._

_"Shoot, it's you _losers_ again," Bowers sighed. "You don't know when to mind other people's business, do y'all?"_

_The Uris kid was the first one to step forward. "Not when it involves you hurting someone, we don't!" he said bravely. "Now let her go!"_

_"No can do, flamer!" quipped Bowers with a sarcastic chuckle. "Why don't you four little fairies waltz on out of here and maybe we'll leave you alone…"_

_Suddenly, another member of the gang stepped in and Steph was able to recognize him: Belch Huggins. She concluded that he must've been the one that had called out to her before Henry got a hold of her. Soon enough, she also saw Victor Criss and that freaking creepy Hockstetter kid approach them from behind._

_"Let go of her, you mullet-wearing moron!" shouted the Tozier kid, and Steph could see that he looked pissed._

_Henry jerked Steph back, making her wince a little but she didn't show it. "You losers come near us, we can hurt her right in front of you if you want," he threatened. "I'm not scared to cut up such a pretty little face…" He then creepily touched Steph's cheek, making her visibly flinch and reel back._

_That was when she brought up her right leg and slammed it to where the sun didn't shine for Bowers. He howled in pain and finally let her go, clutching where she had kicked him. Steph then smartly removed her backpack and swung it at Belch when he ran at her, getting him pretty good in the face. Then Patrick made a move to grab at her, but she was able to unzip her backpack and pull out a pretty large book. She then bashed him over the head with the book, and she could have sworn that she broke his nose. But, before she could get away, she felt a hand grab her and she grunted, struggling to break free._

_That was when all of the boys stepped forward. She saw them charging at Victor, the person that had gotten a hold of her; she noticed that the Denbrough boy was the fastest of all of them. While three of them pulled Victor away from her and started beating the life out of him, the Kaspbrak kid knelt next to her after she had fallen to the ground._

_"You okay?" he asked her. She nodded immediately. "I'm fine," she replied. "Thanks."_

_"No problem," he replied, extending a hand out to her and helping her up. Steph noticed that his clothes looked incredibly neat and clean, confirming her suspicions that _this_ was the germaphobe everyone talked about. But, unlike the others, she treated him with respect as she thanked him again._

_The other three boys had managed to scare the Bowers Gang away by the time Steph was able to stand up again. She was a little dazed from what had just happened, but she was relieved that she wasn't going to get hurt again like she had been several times before. At least someone finally interfered and distracted them for long enough. She gave them a small smile as they walked up to her._

_"A-A-Are you okay?" the Denbrough boy asked her, and she nodded again._

_"Are you guys okay?" Steph inquired, looking at the other boys, and their heads bobbed up and down._

_"Wait," Tozier spoke up, and she looked at him. "Aren't you the quiet girl that everyone talks about?"_

_Steph raised her eyebrows and looked away just as Uris spoke up. "Beep beep, Richie," he deadpanned. After a good three seconds, the blonde turned back to the boy._

_"Yeah, I am," she replied. "I'm not the type of person that talks to people. That's why I don't have any friends…."_

_A long moment of silence passed between the five; but it felt somewhat comfortable, if not slightly awkward. Steph pondered over the words she had just said to the boys that were practically strangers to them. Sure, she knew them, but she didn't know them, and she was worried that they would never speak to her again after this incident._

_Oh, how very wrong she was._

_"We'll be your fruh-friends…" Denbrough said, his tone a little shy. "If-If you want…"_

_Steph looked up at the taller boy, taking in his cropped brown hair and sky blue eyes and his kind nature. Little did she know that she was looking at the boy that she would end up falling in love with. She couldn't help but give him a kind smile, and he returned it as she said, "Sure, that would be nice…. I didn't get your names, though." She looked at the others, awaiting their replies._

_"Well, I'm pretty sure you know our names by now," Richie scoffed. "I mean, we're sort of freaking famous people when it comes to Derry!"_

_"Sh-Shut up, Richie," the taller boy said, and he then reached out his hand. "I'm Bill D-Denbrough." Steph didn't hesitate to shake his hand, feeling the need to be polite. "Glad to hear a first name from you, Bill," she replied jokingly, and he laughed a little._

_Then the boy with the large coke bottle glasses stretched out his hand. "Richie Tozier's my name," he introduced, and Steph shook his hand, an exasperated look etched into her face. "And doing voices is my game!" he added, before putting an arm around the Uris kid to present him. "This is Stan 'The Man' Uris. Stan's a Jew, that means he's very smart and says, 'Oi,' a lot!"_

_Stan shrugged himself out from under Richie's arm. "Shut up, Trashmouth," he said, his tone very serious, and Steph giggled a little. "Nice to meet you, Stan," she said politely._

_"Same to you," he responded._

_Richie then went up to the Kaspbrak kid and put his arm around him. "And this, my lady, is Eddie Spaghetti!" He then ruffled the hypochondriac's hair, which annoyed the smaller boy very quickly, as he threw Richie's arm off of him._

_"Don't do that, Rich!" he scolded irritatedly. "I freaking _hate_ it when you do that! And _don't_ call me Eddie Spaghetti!"_

_"Oh, but I thought you loved it, Eds!" Richie teased, throwing his hands up in surrender. "Well dang… guess I need to find a better nickname…"_

_"You already found a worse one," retorted Eddie. "Don't call me Eds either!"_

_"You guys are hilarious," Steph said around a chuckle. "I'm Stephanie Palmer… but I usually go by 'Steph.'"_

_The other boys nodded, and Eddie extended his hand out to her before turning it into a fist. "Welcome to the Losers' Club, Steph!" he said proudly._

_Steph laughed playfully as they bumped their fists together._

"He checked on you while we were beating them up," Bill spoke up after Steph finished. "I remember now…"

Steph nodded, lowering her head slightly. She sniffed a little before continuing. "I never had any friends, because I was just so focused on taking care of my mom. Everyone called me a loser because I never hung out with anyone or even _spoke_ to anyone…. I felt like I didn't deserve happiness... but then I met you guys. After we became friends, I grew a little more protective of Eddie than the rest of you… Don't get me wrong, I loved you all, _especially_ you." At Bill's slight blush, she managed to smile slightly. "But, Eddie was vulnerable… probably the most vulnerable out of all of us. I felt that I needed to be there for him when he needed it… And I feel like I failed him…"

Bill just stared at her for a while, his heart breaking at those words. The look on her face made him want to cry, but he chose to stay strong just so she could. His hands that were still on her face fell to her shoulders and he squeezed them gently, which was something that made her close her eyes again. He knew why she reacted that way, and he smiled a little, but it dropped a few seconds later.

"I don't know if I can move on from that…" whispered Steph, opening her eyes again, but they didn't meet Bill's. "It's just… I really miss him, you know. I miss calling him Eds and all that… I don't think I will be able to move on…"

Bill sighed quietly, his hands moving down her arms to take her hands in his. "Steph…" he began, "...you _can_ move on from this. I promise you that you can. You are a very strong woman, and I'm so proud of you for that. And I won't say that if you need help, I'll be there for you. No, I _am_ going to help you, no matter what. And you can't do a thing about it."

They both laughed a little at Bill's mock stern tone, eventually letting another long moment envelop them. Steph looked directly into his eyes for an extremely long minute, staring into his soul. She finally noticed that there were specks of green in the blue voids, something that she had never seen before. But the look he was giving her started to calm her slightly as she took a deep breath.

"Do you promise that?" she asked softly.

Bill scoffed lightly at the question, giving Steph a serious look. "Honey, why do you think I married you?" he replied. "That alone defines every promise I make for you…."

Steph looked down as the waterworks finally began to stop. "I feel so stupid for crying," she admitted, chuckling a little. "I wasn't crying earlier because I tried to stay strong for y'all… But I guess that failed miserably…." She stared at the hardwood floor for a second, before looking at Bill again. To her slight surprise, he was shaking his head, his eyes full of sadness. He stood up and sat down next to her, slipping an arm around her back and one under her legs. He pulled her onto his lap and hugged her to him.

"Sweetheart, it's perfectly okay to cry," he assured her as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I mean, I hate to see you upset, but everyone cries when they need to, just like you are now…. It's completely normal, so don't feel stupid. You don't have to be strong all the time. Okay?"

The blonde woman's head bobbed up and down, and Bill gingerly lifted up her right arm. "What happened here?" he asked in a worried tone. Steph shrugged at him.

"Bowers," she said simply. At the sight of Bill's eyes widening, she shook her head. "Richie killed him… he cut my leg, too."

Bill was still worried, tracing his fingers along her jaw so he would also feel some sort of comfort. "You're okay, though, right?" he inquired, his soft voice one of concern.

Steph nodded, wrapping her arms around Bill's neck as she inhaled shakily. "You know I love you, right?" she said, smiling up at him. He nodded without hesitation; she herself didn't know that her statement had made his heart race.

"Of course I do," he replied easily. "And I love you, too… We'll help each other through this. Together."

The smile on Steph's face didn't waver as she wiped the remaining tears away. She met Bill's eyes and refused to shy away from his sympathetic stare. Instead, she pulled herself closer to him and rested her forehead against his, but not before giving him a brief but loving kiss. And in a quiet voice, she repeated his final word:

"Together."

* * *

**A/N: VERY IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE! PLEASE READ THIS!**

**Awww, wasn't that sweet? The ending of this chapter was the scene I hinted at in my preview you saw in the first story! So, here you go! It's there now!**

**Thoughts on this chapter? What was your favorite moment? Did you like the quarry scene? Was the ending of the chapter sweet?**

**Only two more chapters to go! I'm probably gonna cry when I finish this... I feel like it hasn't even been that long. One more week of writing... Jesus...**

**But at least I can work on more stories afterwards so YAY! Still, it's gonna be hard saying goodbye to Steph... :(**

**Anyways, I'm gonna go! Happy Valentine's Day again! Hope you have a great one! Be looking forward to the next chapter! As always, have a great day, and until next time!**

**\- Hermione Romanoff**

**P.S. Do you think we can do a Q&A related to these stories? If so, let me know and ask all the question you want! I will also make a list of the references I made in this story, if y'all want me to!**


	13. Confessions and Dances

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC!**

**Just to let you guys know: I am in no way homophobic or hateful towards people in the LGBTQ community! I fully respect anyone in this community. I'm saying this because there is a scene with Richie and... I'm sure you guys know why.**

**A/N: I was supposed to upload this chapter earlier this morning... but I wasn't done with it yet. PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! So, while I had free time at school today, I got it done... FINALLY! So, here you guys go! Oh, and THIS is the longest chapter! It's been confirmed!**

**Only one more chapter after this one and it will be over. *goes to personal corner and cries hysterically* We'll have to say goodbye to Steph this weekend, and I'm probably gonna cry myself to sleep after uploading the epilogue. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!**

_**Angryfanfic: You'll have to wait until the epilogue ;) Hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

_**MusicLover14: You sure have the guts to suffer through the Twilight films. They are AWFUL! *vomits* And I'm a pretty good way into the fifth chapter of my other story! You may get that within the next few days or a week, so be looking forward to it! :) And yes, you forgot Stell, but it's perfectly fine! I'll answer all of your question after the epilogue is released! I want you to ask more question related to Steph's character, but I'll explain more after the ending of this chapter. And please don't punch a wall. You can always reread these two stories, and that would be fun to do. Thanks for the kudos! All my love goes to you as well, my friend! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

_**Avs Rulezzzzz: Thank you so much! That made my day! Glad you're enjoying the story! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

_**SuperSentai199: Yes, it was. I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter, and hopefully this one as well!**_

_** .2019: Thank you! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

_**MissBeckyJolene: Thank you! I will explain more about the Q&A at the end of this chapter, so stay tuned! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

_**robinmuffins: Yeah, maybe a little late, but that's alright! I'm glad you loved the last chapter! I was actually surprised at how long it was, as well as this one lol Hope you enjoy this one, and if you want details about the Q&A, read the author's note after this chapter is over.**_

_**Special thanks to: Angryfanfic, MusicLover14, Avs Rulezzzzz, SuperSentai199, .2019, MissBeckyJolene, and robinmuffins for leaving a review on the last chapter!**_

**Now, without further ado, here is the thirteenth chapter!**

* * *

_**Chapter Thirteen**_

A few hours passed before Steph finally calmed down from her emotional explanation. During those hours, she remained in Bill's arms, and he held her as they talked. They reminisced over dozens of memories, and most of them filled them with laughter as they relived each one. Surprisingly, not a single one of them brought Steph to tears, although a few nearly did; she managed to hold them back quite easily, and that was pretty good for her. And, eventually, she was her old happy self again, but she knew that things would never be the same going forward.

After some more time went by, the two got up from the bed and left the room. They went downstairs to see that the others were already gathered around the bar, which made Steph smile a little. With their hands still connected, the both of them walked over to the other four and sat on a few stools that were still open, and the others seemed happy that they had showed up.

"Oh, my God!" Richie exclaimed in a joking voice, although his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "They live!"

Steph raised her eyebrows as she gave the man with glasses a knowing look. "Did you just unintentionally reference that 80s John Carpenter movie?" she asked, laughter threatening to arrive; she couldn't hold it back at the expression on Richie's face after she had said that.

"Shoot," he muttered under his breath. All of the others laughed, although Steph seemed to be the only one that noticed the somewhat secretive look on Richie's face afterwards. Her giggling faltered just a little, but she made sure nobody could tell. But she knew that she was going to ask him questions later; he wasn't getting away as easily as he might've thought.

For hours, as the sun slowly sank under the horizon, the six Losers talked more about how their lives had been before everything that happened recently. They had drinks as they shared stories, laughs, and emotions, and it took a lot of stress out of Steph as she learned so much more about her friends that she had not known for 27 years. She paid attention as she absorbed the information about Ben's architecture business, Richie's comedy career, Beverly's fashion line, and Mike's job as a librarian. And then Steph and Bill talked about their jobs, she as an actress and he as a writer, and they were all interested.

During the time that passed until the sun went down, Steph grew so much closer to the other four people in the room with her and Bill. Sure, she had been close to them before the group started breaking apart during their teenage years, but she could definitely call them inseparable now. It was a good feeling that stayed in her heart, and she knew that it would never leave her subconscious and that she would never forget it.

It was then that Steph realized that the friendship between her and the other five (even her own husband) wasn't just some happy part of her life and who she was as a person. No. Their friendship was like the soft colors of nature, like the blue sky that deepened to show everyone the stars every night; it was an earthiness that would last a lifetime. And _that_ was what had led them to defeat It once and for all. Her friends had saved her both emotionally and physically, even though two of them were not on this planet anymore; but not even that could drain Steph's happiness during those moments, as she also felt that she was honoring their memories as well.

And then she remembered that the day they had made that blood oath in that September, 27 years ago, was the last time that all eight of them were together. But she knew that this would _not_ be the last time that the six of them would be together.

After about seven hours, the sun had long since set and the remaining Losers were finally finishing their banter, although there was still chuckling among them. Everything settled down and they started going back to minding their own business, mainly continuing their task of packing their bags to leave Derry again. But they all promised each other that they would meet up whenever they could after they all left, and Steph had a feeling that those promises would come true. And, if that was the case, she was happy.

After she took a last sip of wine from her glass, she glanced to her right and saw Richie walking out of the lobby area by himself, exiting the building. And that was when she figured that this could be her moment to get him to talk and admit what she knew he needed to admit. So, after telling Bill she would be back in a little bit, she got off of the stool she was sitting on, her feet lightly hitting the floor. She cautiously walked towards the front doors, not knowing if she should talk to him or not. She didn't want to aggravate him, and if she accidently did, she would regret it for a while.

Steph paused at the doors, starting to second-guess what she was doing; a part of her did not want to open these doors and turn him into more of an emotional wreck that he already was. But she needed answers, and she wanted to comfort Richie as much as she could. He was her best friend, after all, despite their major differences and how much they bickered. Richie Tozier was still one of the most important people in her life even if they hadn't seen each other in over two and a half decades before their reunion two nights ago.

So, although she was still a little hesitant, she pushed open the doors and walked out into the surprisingly warm weather. Her eyes instantly fell on Richie, who was sitting on the stairs, as quiet as a mouse. The doors she had just opened shut very silently behind her as she sat down next to the man with the glasses, letting the stillness absorb them for a moment. She was a little surprised that Richie hadn't moved at all when she came outside, didn't even give Steph the least bit of attention; his eyes were glued to the other three stairs that resided beneath them.

"You here to comfort me again?" Richie spoke up, his voice monotone, his gaze still not drifting to Steph whatsoever. The woman could see that his eyes were blank as he said these words, and it made her sigh; she could tell that he was hiding his true emotions that he wanted to let out and he was also hiding something else from her… something that she couldn't quite pinpoint. It was something that she was sure that she didn't even remember.

"No…" she answered, finally looking at Richie, who still hadn't moved. "I'm not here to hold you again unless you need it."

The usually lighthearted member of the Losers' Club glanced at Steph after a long moment, an exasperated look in his eyes. "Then what _do_ you want?" he retorted, a slight bite to his tone. "I've already been through enough and I need to know why you came out here to see me, knowing I'm not gonna say anything…"

After a brief second, during which Steph was a little surprised that her best friend would react to her presence this way. It reminded her of a time that he had acted the same way; it was after the fight between him and Bill in July of that summer, but she pushed it out of her mind for just a moment. And she then opened her mouth to say the words she had been needing to say for the past several hours.

"Rich," she said a little quieter than she had intended, "I did not come out here to comfort you." Her tone was final and blunt. "I came out here because I need answers."

Richie snapped his head back to her, his eyes wide as if he had been a deer caught in headlights. "What do you mean, you need answers?" he asked, his voice one of annoyance, but Steph could hear the slight nervousness as he spoke, and she knew that how he had said the words instantly gave him away; he was trying to get away from this conversation.

"Richard Tozier, do not play dumb with me, please," she begged, giving him a pleading look. "Listen, do you remember what I told you a long time ago when I ran into you at the theater?"

It was at that moment that Richie's shoulders sagged, and he relented, dropping his pretensive nature. He looked at her and said, "Yeah."

"I need to let you know that what I said still stands."

And, almost like a rush of water blasting against Steph, the memory came back into full focus as

_she strolled down the street, her destination being the Aladdin Theater. Her purse was slung over her right shoulder, her other hand stuffed in her left pocket of her blue jeans. Her short and messy blonde hair was in a ponytail and it was being gusted behind her by the wind, and the cool air made her hug herself a little as she approached the building that stood a dozen feet away._

_It was five days after Steph's birthday and it was unreasonably chilly for a summer day; not that it was a bad thing, it was just something that the teenage girl wasn't used to around this time of year. She was headed to the theater for two reasons: one, she wanted to see a horror movie that had just been released (even though she wasn't quite old enough to see it), and it was only to see if it was really as bad as people said it was; and second, she wanted to see if Richie was there so she could reason with him about the fight he and Bill had three and a half weeks ago._

_Steph finally reached the front doors of the theater and opened them with great ease. Immediately, she was met with over a dozen other kids playing with the arcade games that were set up in the lobby; it was the standout feature of one of her favorite places in Derry. It probably _was _her favorite place in this awful excuse for a town. It was a place where she could watch films of many genres, no matter what they were and she always thought that they were beautiful, as was the experience of viewing countless films._

_She looked around the wide and open room, vividly searching with her eyes with a concentrated expression on her face. She saw the poster for _Friday the 13th Part Vlll: Jason Takes Manhattan _(which was the film she was here to see) and she chuckled a little. But her smile dropped a few seconds later as her eyes landed on the person she was looking for. She took a deep breath, clenching her hands into fists for a second before slowly walking over to him._

_Richie was standing in front of an arcade machine, labeled 'Street Fighter.' _Of course, _thought Steph as she approached him, noticing that he was hitting the controls a little too harshly than he normally would have. It made her wince a little and she rushed over to the machine. "Woah woah woah, Rich!" she exclaimed calmly, gesturing to what he was playing. "You look like you're about to murder that game, take deep breaths…"_

_The boy whipped his head around to face her, a glare imprinted into his eyes that actually wasn't directed at her, and she noticed it. She didn't say anything about it._

"_What do you want, Steph?" he sighed, his shoulders slumped in defeat as he looked down to stare at the floor._

_The girl's expression morphed from one of surprise to one of sympathy as she put a hand on his shoulder. "I wanted to see a friend," she answered him. "We need to talk about what happened a few weeks ago…"_

_Richie scoffed, turning back to the game. "What happened between Bill and I is in the freaking past," he retorted. "We _don't _need to talk about anything!" He started playing the game again, pretending that Steph wasn't there as he did so._

_And that was when Steph snapped, and she grit her teeth; she wasn't giving up that easily, and she wasn't letting Richie get away with his excuse. So, she leaned forward and slammed her hand down on the red 'QUIT GAME' button, and the match was cut off. This made Richie scowl at her, and he opened his mouth to shout at her, but she held up her right hand._

"_I wouldn't do that if I were you," she said through her clenched teeth, still trying to be as collected as possible. "I just wanna talk to you, and you're gonna let me say my piece. Understand?"_

_There was a moment of tense silence between the two, and Steph was afraid that Richie was going to yell at her regardless of her warning. And if he did, he was going to regret it, and she figured that he knew that; it was better if you didn't raise your voice at Stephanie Palmer, or she was going to do the same to you. If there was anything that the other seven members of the Losers' Club knew, the young girl could get angry real fast. And _nobody _liked to see Steph when she was mad. The other problem was that the two were in public, and Steph didn't want Richie to cause a scene._

_So, knowing that yelling at her was not the best idea, the boy with the coke bottles looked at Steph, visibly calmer now. He nodded his head, although slowly, and a grateful smile grew on the girl's face. "Good," she said. "Let's take this outside so nobody will hear, okay?'_

_Richie didn't even have to nod to let her know that he would. He followed her outside, and nobody even spared a glance at them, much to Steph's relief. She led him to the alleyway nearby, the movie she was yet to see in the back of her mind now; she had more important things to do at this moment. The two of them sat on the ground and leaned their backs against the wall of the theater, staring at the few bits of trash that were littered around them. Steph's hair blew behind her again, and she was grateful that she wore a long-sleeved shirt that day, since the chill of the air made goosebumps erupt on her arms._

_She then turned to Richie and opened her mouth. "So…" she began. "How have you been? Anything new happen?"_

_The boy next to her shrugged, his gaze not directed to her at all. His expression seemed just a little blank, but Steph could see through that barrier, able to see the hidden emotion. But, before she was able to speak again, Richie cut her off, although he didn't know that he did._

"_It's just… things have been so different without the others around…" he began to explain. "Especially… never mind. I don't feel like myself anymore, and it _freaking _sucks. Do you get that?"_

_Steph nodded, putting a comforting hand on Richie's shoulder as her eyes fell a little. "I understand," she replied, her voice softer and more stable than she had ever used it around Richie; usually she was always sarcastic or she often snapped at him. She sounded absolutely genuine now, and she felt as if it were really needed at that moment. She felt no tension, and she wasn't angry or annoyed with him... she completely understood him._

"_I've felt alone for the past few weeks, too," continued Steph. "Only Bill and Beverly have stuck by me, but that doesn't help all that much. I don't feel the same anymore, and I hate it as well… I hate it just like you hate it about yourself. But… even though I'm still sad and annoyed with how you acted that day, I learned something. You just need to be strong through that sadness. I'm telling you this, because I didn't mean to say the things I said to you that day. I'm saying I'm sorry, and that's me being strong. I need you to be strong as well… That's all I'm asking. If you have that bravery, then maybe we can all be a group again…"_

_There was a long moment of stillness, where they both stayed silent. It was not precisely awkward… it was, Steph though, almost _powerful_. Even though she and Richie didn't share any words in these several seconds, they knew what needed to be said between them. And that was what made the boy lock eyes with her, green meeting dark blue._

"_I'm trying to be strong…" said Richie. "But it's just so dang difficult… especially since…"_

_Steph sensed his hesitation, and it made her comforting expression waver for just a tiny second. "Since what, Rich?" she inquired gently, not wanting to push his buttons further than she had earlier._

_Richie shook his head. "It's nothing you should know," he replied. "I'm just freaking scared. I don't want to be, but I can't stop it, and I just wanna give up…"_

"_And that's something you should _not _do," interrupted Steph, giving him a harsh but pleading look. "Giving up is the worst thing you could ever do. What happened to the confident and quippy Richie Tozier I once knew? Where is that boy right now? Is he here or is he just hiding from the horrors of the real world?"_

_The boy just stared at her, his eyes full of fear, but she could tell that it was slowly diminishing by the second. And it made her smile slightly out of pride._

"_Even though you annoy the heck out of me sometimes," she went on, "you are still very strong. I need to see that from you right now, because of what's going on. If you do, then maybe we can take this demon down. We can kill this freaking clown if we all stay strong. Sure, we may be scared, but facing your fears is just a part of life. We're all afraid of something, but we have to fight that and defeat it. Do you understand?"_

_Richie didn't hesitate to nod this time. "I'm still mad at Bill, though," he said, and Steph rolled her eyes, but she still chuckled._

"_Well, maybe cool off more before you guys make up," she advised. "I also think you need a hug, so come here."_

_And they hugged, their differences behind them for the time being._

"I need you to be strong for me right now," Steph told him as the memory faded away to where it would reappear again in the future. "If you don't… well, I don't know what I'll do. I already let out all my emotions, and it helped a little bit. Maybe you could do that…"

Richie's gaze drifted back to the ground, and he hesitated to speak for a long time. Steph didn't know that his heart was hammering in his chest, and that he was afraid to tell her the truth; he was certain that she would judge him, that she had always known, and that she would be disgusted by what he would say next. He was scared that his best friend would hate her forever, and that's what made his heart leap into his throat out of anxiety.

Steph put a hand on his shoulder, just like she had done all those years ago. She didn't say anything at first, as she noticed that Richie's hands were shaking ever so slightly. It worried her a little bit, and it made her take a trembling breath, a little concerned as to what she would hear next. But she opened her mouth and said the words she wouldn't regret:

"Richie, you know that _nothing_ that you tell me will ever change my love for you as a friend. You are my family no matter what. I'm not the type of person that judges you for anything, even if you freaking annoy me all the time. I will still love you for who you are as a person… no matter what you say. Okay?"

The hush that followed these words was more agonizing than Steph had ever imagined it would be. It pained her a little bit that Richie wasn't answering her, that he wasn't telling her the truth about he was particularly upset about Eddie's death. She wanted to know what he would say, even if she secretly knew that he was scared - ashamed - to tell her. She thought that his response couldn't be that bad, that it would be like nothing to her and it was just something else. But Steph knew that it was something more than that.

And it was. To Richie, it was a very big deal if Steph knew or… _anybody_ knew, really. If someone knew, it would tarnish his emotional state if they judged him. He was so reluctant to tell her, and he was so guilt-ridden that he hadn't told her sooner. He was also grief stricken over his best friend's death, and he was thankful for Steph that she had comforted him when she did. But he was still hesitant, the fear coming back.

_I know your secret, your dirty little secret,_ the words echoed in his mind, and he visibly cringed at the voice. That had happened over a day ago, but he couldn't get it out of his head. He was disgusted at himself that he was like this, and even more so at how scared he was right now.

The only thing holding him back from crying again was the fact that the person sitting beside him was Stephanie Denbrough. He had the feeling that she would _never_ look at him differently, but there was that tiny hint of doubt in his soul that it was true; he wasn't even sure if that was the case or not. That made his worry rise drastically as the seconds passed, and it made his hands tremble even more.

But the truth was this: he had been hiding this secret from his friends for 27 freaking years. Ever since that day at the theater before the statue of Paul Bunyan came to life, he had kept it a secret from the other Losers, _especially_ Steph, as he didn't want her to judge him. She was the friend that he looked up to the most, despite their differences, and since she was now begging for answers, he had to give them to her. He couldn't hide anymore, and he knew that.

"Okay…" he said after what seemed like forever. "You want answers, I'll give them to you. Here's the thing, Steph…. About two weeks before you ran into me at the theater, I was there, playing 'Street Fighter,' like always. Well, someone else wanted to play with me - I can't remember his name, it's been so long - so we did. We went against each other, and we had a good time… until I suggested we play again…."

He paused, unsure if he should continue; he couldn't believe he was telling Steph about the worst day he had possibly gone through in his childhood. To him, it was even worse than any of the encounters with It, the room with the clowns, and the other things he had seen. _This_, for him, was much, much worse. And he hated it, he freaking _despised_ it.

"What happened after that, Richie?" Steph asked simply, but her tone sounded like she already knew, like it was intended to be that way. And it frightened Richie all the more, but he had already started explaining everything, so he had to continue. If he didn't, he would've probably run away from the townhouse entirely. He would've probably packed his things and left Derry forever, and not see his friends ever again. But he needed to be strong, just like Steph wanted… so he went on.

"Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bowers enter the lobby… and it turned out that the boy was his cousin. His freaking cousin, Steph… And he called me all these names that I never wanted to hear… and I left. And that was when I realized something…."

Once again, he stopped speaking. Although his bravery was coming back, he was still uncertain about finishing his explanation. He locked eyes with Steph for a moment, and he saw that she was patient, that she was tolerating the long silence in a composed manner. And that honestly worried him more, especially when he could see the masked concern in her vivid blue eyes.

"What did you realize?" inquired Steph, her gaze gentle and reassuring as she said it.

Richie then burst into tears almost immediately and the woman pulled him into the third hug that day. She ran a comforting hand over his back as his body shook, and she knew that these weren't tears of sorrow or grief; they were tears of what seemed to be humiliation and it saddened her deeply. She rested her head on his and they stayed that way for a while, just waiting for the man in her arms to calm down.

And he did some time later, but the tears still flowed despite this. Richie sniffed, wiping at his eyes underneath the glasses before meeting Steph's eyes again. "I'm… I'm gay," he admitted at last. "And… I had feelings for… Eddie."

For a moment, Steph was giving him a look that seemed to be one of slight surprise. Her lips were parted a little bit and her eyes were wide. But, after a few seconds, she let out a giggle, much to Richie's astonishment. She covered her mouth to be a little quieter as she shut her eyes.

"Is that it?" she said, solace buried in her tone. "Is that really it? I thought it was something _worse_ than that!"

Richie dropped his gaze out of utter embarrassment, but he didn't feel ashamed this time. "Yeah… that's what I needed to say… That's what I've been hiding for so long."

Steph stopped laughing after a short while, her humored expression turning back into a serious one. "I'm sorry I laughed," she told him. "I just thought you were going to tell me something worse than that. But that's it… Richie, if you think I'm going to judge you for _that_, then I can finally call you a dang moron."

The man beside her shook his head. "No…" he muttered. "You can judge me… tell me I'm a _fairy_… I can take it…"

The blonde woman scoffed. "No, you can't because I'm _not_ gonna say that to you," she said bluntly. "Richard Tozier, listen to me right now. You are _not_ a fairy or whatever Bowers called you that day. He called you that because he was a freaking jerk who couldn't think because he was so stupid. Look, you are the same old Richie to me, no matter what. You're still my best friend and I still love you… and, if you want, this can stay between us until you're ready to tell the others…"

Richie sighed with immense relief, and he chuckled a little, wiping away the tears that had stained his face. It made Steph smile when she heard him laugh, and it was like music to her ears to know that he was cheerful because she hadn't judged him. She didn't even see him any differently, and this was a big deal for Richie, and she knew it. And she accepted his embrace when he wrapped his arms around her, and she realized that it was a way of saying, "Thank you."

"You don't have to be afraid anymore," said Steph, rubbing a hand over his shoulder. "You're still the good old Trashmouth I know, okay?"

"How long have you known? Did you _ever_ know?"

Steph pulled back and shrugged. "I noticed that you acted a little different around Eddie, but I never really figured it out until just now. I would say that you did a pretty good job at hiding it. But I kinda wished you told us much sooner, and I wouldn't have judged you then. And I certainly won't now. You are you, and that's what matters, okay?"

Richie nodded, and they hugged again.

* * *

The next was the day that five of the Losers would leave Derry and never return.

But that didn't mean that they would forget, because they wouldn't, which was the best thing Steph could ask for.

She and Bill were currently packing their things and getting ready to leave. The blonde woman folded up her clothes and gently stuffed them into her suitcase, along with her toiletries and hairbrush. There was a silence between the two, but this one was comfortable and peaceful. It gave Steph the indication that although it would be difficult to move on, she knew that she would be able to eventually. The grief was still there, but it was mostly hidden by the fact that she was glad to be going back to New York.

Steph paused in her packing process, looking out the window. She could just barely hear birds chirping outside as a light breeze blew against the green leaves of the trees. The sun was shining brightly outside, and it was beautiful and glorious to her. She loved the sunshine, as it was the most dazzling sight to her.

She then took a look around the newly cleaned room. The obliterated drawer from what happened two days ago was gone and it was replaced in its rightful location. The room was now spotless enough for more guests that would show up someday in the future. It looked just as it did when Steph and Bill had first entered the room three days before. It was nice again, and it relieved her to no end.

After a few minutes, Steph zipped up her suitcase and lazily let her arms swing back and forth as she watched Bill get finished with his packing. "Do you want me to help you?" she asked in a gentle voice, secretly wanting him to say yes. Her husband turned to her with a smile on his face but he shook his head nonetheless.

"No, it's okay," he replied. "I got it. Thank you, though." He then turned back to his suitcase as Steph nodded.

The woman looked at her watch, which read _10:57 AM_. Their plane would be leaving Bangor in about five hours, but they thought it was better that they get ready early so they can leave for the hour and a half drive to the airport. She herself honestly felt it was easier this way, but it was actually Bill who had suggested the idea, so she didn't even know why they were packing so early.

She would find out in a little bit, however.

Half an hour passed by, and Bill finally finished packing, leaving the two in a comfortable silence again. He walked over to her and encircled his arms around her waist, while she wrapped her own arms around his torso. Steph rested her head against his chest, the sound of his calm heartbeat keeping her consoled and sane. It made her tighten her hold on him slightly, and he did the same with her. And that was when something dawned on Steph:

Bill's heartbeat was her new favorite song. And it always would be.

"You ready to go?" he whispered after a while. She shrugged. "I don't know… am I?" she teased. They both chuckled lightly at the joke, and that was when Steph finally pulled away from the hug. She nodded her head seconds later.

"I guess I'm ready to go," she said truthfully, and Bill's arms dropped from her waist as his head bobbed up and down. He ran his hands up and down her arms in the most soothing manner he had ever used and it gave Steph shivers as she gave him a sweet beam that unknowingly made his heart skip a beat.

The two of them grabbed their suitcases and made their way down the stairs. Everyone else, excluding Mike, had already left and were on their way back to their respective towns. The only difference was that Beverly and Ben were going to Nebraska together, and it made Steph extremely happy knowing this. And with those two, as well as Richie and Mike, she had gotten all of their numbers and saved them to her cell phone so she wouldn't forget them. It made a feeling of gratitude swell up inside of her to know that she and her friends were going to be in touch so much more now.

But, one thing was true for sure: Steph was glad that she was leaving Derry for good. She was putting the horrific events from a few days ago and 27 years ago behind her now. But that didn't mean she would forget, because she wouldn't. She wasn't able to, and she was strangely okay with that. She at least had the good memories of the past that she could hold on to, which was an amazing thing.

The couple exited the townhouse, and made their way to their rental car. Mike had gone back to the library earlier that morning and had said goodbye. But Steph knew it wasn't goodbye forever. They opened the back door of the car and put their suitcases in the seat. Bill shut the door for his wife so she wouldn't have to do it, which made her a little thankful.

"I was thinking," Bill said, "that before we go, we take a walk. I mean, we can if you want to. Just one last stroll around Derry before we leave…"

Steph gave him a bewildered look, a smile planted on her face despite her confusion. She chortled a little at the emotion she was currently feeling as she gazed at him. "Bill, where are we gonna go?" she asked, her tone sounding as if she were totally lost. "There's no where I can think of going…"

Bill checked his watch and looked back at her, a respectful look in his eyes as he grinned. "We still have four hours, hun," he answered her. "We can go anywhere you want to… it's up to you." As he said this, he reached out his right hand and took her left, squeezing it softly.

The blonde-haired woman didn't know why she blushed at that moment, but she did, the rosy color filling her cheeks as she stared at him. She had never forgotten how sweet he was to her, and it was most likely the main reason why she loved him. She could tell that he actually had something planned in mind, but he wasn't going to tell her anytime soon. However, she wanted to know what it was, even if he wouldn't reveal it. So, having that as a reminder in her mind, she gave him a nod. "Alright, let's go," she finally said.

After she laced their fingers together, the two set off down the street, Bill making sure to lock the car as they went on their way. Their connected hands swung at their sides as they looked around, spotting the old buildings that stuck out from the new ones. They laughed at some memories they had around the town, they reminisced on some times with their friends or the dates the two had went on as teenagers. Steph's favorite one was still their first one, although she rarely said this to Bill. It was probably because it was a little embarrassing for her, even though the date was absolutely perfect.

The couple strolled through Bassey Park, where the Paul Bunyan statue stood. It looked relatively the same so many years later, and it was something that was kind of funny to Steph. They saw about two dozen people out and about, decorating for the upcoming 4th of July parade that took place every year in Derry. It brought smiles upon their faces, and Steph giggled rather shyly when Bill offered his arm to her. She slipped her arm around his and they started walking again, Steph resting her head on her husband's shoulder as they did so.

After an hour of walking, Steph suddenly halted her steps, making Bill stop as well. He looked at her, his eyebrows raised in puzzlement. "What is it, sweetie?" he asked her. The woman just stared ahead for a moment, her blue eyes seeming to be fixed on something that Bill couldn't physically see. He patiently waited for a response, not caring how long it took, as long as she could think.

Steph took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a minute, her right hand flying up to the necklace she wore. After a small moment, she finally turned to Bill. "I want to see her…" she answered him. "You know…"

Bill looked down for a moment, and he lifted his left hand to brush a strand of hair out of her face. "Are you sure, honey?" he inquired, his fingers lingering on her cheek. Even though she blushed a little, she still nodded, leaning into his hand to where it cradled her face. "I feel like I need to… just one more time…" she said.

He let go of her arm when he heard this, both of his hands falling to take hers. "I'll be there with you if you need me to be," he promised her, lifting her right hand to his lips and planting kisses on it. Steph timidly dropped her gaze and just barely fought back a smile as she nodded. "Okay," she murmured. And her husband hugged her again and, although she didn't return the embrace, it felt nice to just simply be held by him. But she wasn't looking for comfort; she would need it later, most likely. She just needed his word that he would be by her side, and she got that.

They then continued their stroll around the town, a new destination in their minds. Steph didn't know this, but Bill wasn't planning on going to the cemetery; he actually had an entirely different plan in mind. But they could go to that place later. For now, if his wife wanted to visit her mother's grave, he was going to let her; no hesitation, she was getting what she wanted, and it made him happy that he was letting her. He put an arm around her shoulders to provide comfort as they slowly arrived at the place they needed to go. Or, rather, Steph needed to go to this place.

The two approached the gate, where the doors were open. They were regularly closed at night, just in case some prick came in and stole something, but the caretaker never really cared about what it was like during the day. Steph noticed immediately that the cemetery barely looked different so many years later, except for the new graves that had been planted into the ground. She could spot the latest tombstones like they were the most obvious things in the world, and she could also see the older ones very easily. She saw the variation of flowers that sat on the stones, which arranged from rose to daisies to petunias to lillies and so on. The colors red, white, purple, and pink stood out and it was appealing to her, because she knew that they all looked beautiful.

She and Bill walked through the rows of graves, seeing the ones that had names like Carson or Sawyer or Ray or Moore. A sad grimace rested on her face as she looked at these, thinking that the deceased members of those families must have been good people. She wasn't able to mourn for them, however, as she needed to do that for someone else, which made her grab for the necklace she was wearing once again. She took another deep breath and let go of Bill's hand, walking towards the direction she knew she had to go in.

The woman's blonde hair blew behind her loosely and it also flew as the slightly billowing wind brushed through it. The sunlight made it shine and it made it look like it was darker than it should have been.

Steph knelt down in front of the gravestone, feeling a few tears well up in her eyes as she felt Bill's presence behind her. Her finger lightly traced over the necklace, her other hand reaching up to wipe the tears away. "Hi, Mom," she whispered.

The tombstone still looked perfect; it was a grayish-silver color and the words engraved into the rock read:

**Jamie R. Palmer**

_June 4th, 1946_

_April 29th, 1991_

Loving Mother and Daughter

_**Always in our thoughts**_

_**Forever in our hearts**_

Steph tried her hardest to hold back the tears, but she failed. She didn't sob hysterically, however, only letting a few tears flow as she cried silently. She sniffed after a while and reached both hands behind her neck to unhook the chain of the necklace she wore. The piece of jewelry slipped off of her skin as gently as possible and she let it dangle between two fingers.

"I know you said that even though you're gone… you aren't _really_ gone," continued Steph, her quivering breathing the only other thing she could hear over her speaking. "I just want you to know that I believe you and that I know you're still here with me. I know that you're going to tell me that it'll all be okay now, and maybe it will be, but that doesn't change the fact that… I really miss you, Mom. And I wish you could be here… like, _really_ be here, but I know you can't. I love you so much, Mom, and I'll never forget the years that I did have with you before… before… Never mind."

And with that, she took the heart-shaped necklace, which read '_Mother and Daughter Forever_,' and she set it on the stone as carefully as she could. She positioned it to where it would never fall off or get blown off, and she thought it was perfect. Steph felt as if she were honoring her mother's memory by letting her know that, in a way, she herself would always be here.

That fact made the woman cry more, her only desire at that moment being that she could see her mother again. All she wanted was for Jamie to be there and she would feel completely whole again, but she knew that it was not possible anymore. Her mother was gone and she wasn't coming back. Because this thought was in her head, she longed to be closer with her in some way imaginable. So, with that in mind, she moved closer to the tombstone and wrapped her arms around it as much as she could. She rested her head against the cool rock and closed her eyes, her body trembling as she started to sob, and her lips quivered as she cried.

This was the closest she would ever get to her mother ever again, and she treasured this moment like nothing else.

After a while, she let go of the gravestone, feeling a weight being taken off of her heart. It was at that moment that she finally started to move on, and she was grateful for that. A few seconds passed as she heard footsteps behind her; she let Bill gently grab her arms and pull her off of the ground and she melted into his embrace. The feeling of his fingers running through her hair soothed her greatly and it made her sigh with relief, knowing that he was still with her and he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"It's going to be okay," whispered Bill as he pulled away. He held her face in his hands and he wiped her tears away. He then leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead, before beginning to pepper kisses all over his wife's face. Steph couldn't help but chuckle through the tears as he did this, and her heart skipped a beat when he finally ended at her lips. She raised her right hand and put it on his face, even though the moment didn't last long.

After they pulled away, the woman lowered her head for a second before locking eyes with Bill. "I know it will be," she replied. "I hope so, anyway… Can we go?"

Bill nodded and the two left the cemetery, never to return again. Steph made sure to spare one last glance at her mother's grave before she left it behind forever. She felt emotionally stronger than ever now, so she looked back in front of her as she and her husband walked away.

The couple strolled around the town more, eventually ending up in the Barrens. They looked at the beautiful nature that surrounded them, as well as the nearby river that led to the Kissing Bridge. The exact bridge the two of them had carved their initials into all those years ago. It made a smile form on her face as they approached a familiar area. There was a circle of logs in the center of the clearing and it was just mere feet away from the river. And it was then that she realized where they were as a brief memory pierced her mind. It was a memory that she had forgotten from that day.

"_I saw us, _all _of us together back in the cistern… but we were older… like, our _parents' _ages…"_

_Steph's eyes widened at this information. A lot of questions were rushing into her mind all at once. Was the idea of this ever happening scary to her? Yes, it was. Would it ever actually happen? Maybe. Maybe not. She honestly had no clue. It all just came down at her like a freight train and it was so confusing._

_It terrified her, to be honest; the thought of ever having to face that dang creature again was unbearable. But would she be ready to fight It again if that ever did end up happening. Of course she would be. She always would. Especially if all of her friends were alongside her in the process._

"_Am I still handsome as an adult?" inquired Richie, cutting Steph's thoughts short. He was gesturing to his face, and it made her and the others laugh a little. She shot the boy an exasperated look despite the moment of humor._

"_You grow into your looks," Bev replied with a grin._

"_I guess I'm gonna be uglier than I already am," Steph quipped, a goofy but joking smile on her face. Bill elbowed her in response, making her giggle a little. Beverly just simply shook her head._

"_You actually get much prettier," was all she said._

"_What about me?" Stan asked, still smiling, although this one was more genuine than the others. Steph could see Beverly's smile fall to a smaller one as she gave the boy a secretive look. "Like now, but taller," she said quietly. The blonde girl was confused as to why her best friend had said this that way._

_Another long moment of silence._

"_W-W-W-What were we all doing there?" Bill asked Beverly. Steph jumped slightly as she looked back at Beverly. Ever since the battle with It, the teenage girl had grown more paranoid and jumpy every now and then, although she was mostly calm around her friends. Despite this, she did jump at times, but tried her best to hide it._

_Beverly shook her head at the question. "I just remember how we felt…. How scared we were…. I don't think I can ever forget that…." she replied in a thoughtful tone. She was staring down at the ground for a long moment, thinking about what she had just told them._

_Steph, meanwhile, kept on thinking about the same thing. Beverly couldn't remember what she had seen completely, but she only remembered bits and pieces of it. If she were honest, what she said was enough for Steph to figure out what was going to happen._

_Bill seemed to be thinking the same thing, suddenly leaning down to pick up something. He then stood up with a determined look on his face, which really shocked Steph. Then she glanced down and saw what was in his right hand._

_A small shard of glass._

"_Swear it," he began with a confident voice. "S-Swear… if It isn't dead… if It ever comes back… we'll come back too."_

"This is where we made the blood oath," Steph spoke in the present, her hand linked to Bill's as they stood in the exact spot. The fact that it had been so long since this had happened resonated with the blonde woman greatly as she felt immense surprise.

"Yeah," Bill said, feeling just as shocked as she did. What floored the couple more was the fact that the area did not look different at all to them, although it obviously did at the same time. It was still the place where they had made their promise and it was the same for them. But it wouldn't be for other people.

"Oh, and Bev was right," Bill added, making Steph look at him in confusion. He smiled at the look on her face as he leaned closer to whisper in her ear. "You're so much prettier now…"

Steph couldn't hide her blush as she hid her face in her husband's chest. Bill chuckled as he ran a hand over her hair, knowing that she appreciated the compliment. As he did this, he looked around the area and an idea came into mind. It was something that he knew would make his wife happy, and it made the dumbest grin form on his face when he thought this. So, not hesitating, he tilted Steph's chin up so she could face him. At the look on his face, the woman raised her eyebrows, since she was completely puzzled.

"Do you remember when we were at your house a long time ago and we danced in your living room?" Bill asked out of nowhere, and Steph couldn't help but laugh at the memory, a look of amusement on her face. "Yeah, I do," she replied. "Why?"

Steph was completely confused but she chose to roll with it as Bill grabbed her hands and pulled her closer to him. "Well… I thought that this would be the _perfect_ place to dance. If you want to, we can…"

The blonde woman beamed at her husband, happiness seeping into her soul for the first time in a while. There was a short silence before she nodded timidly. "I would love to," she mumbled in a shy voice. She looked back at Bill, who had a look of pure love in his eyes, and it made her look away in embarrassment as she put her arms around him. She rested her chin on his shoulder just like she had all those years ago, while he put his hands on her waist. They swayed back and forth, reliving memories and just smiling like the happy couple they were.

After a while, Bill shifted his position so he could look at Steph again. "If you want, we could throw a bit of a twist in this dance," he joked. "We can turn this into _Dancing With the Stars_…?

Steph shook her head instantly, although the smile never left her face. "No," she replied shortly.

"Yeah, let's do it," teased Bill as he took her hands again.

"Oh, _heck_ no!" Steph chuckled, not able to hide her laughter as Bill prepared to spin her around, not even listening to her.

"Be careful," he warned playfully, and he gracefully took her right hand and spun her in a dazzling circle. She giggled when she landed back in his arms and they both laughed happily as they held each other, continuing to sway around the area. They were lost in what they were doing and in each other, focused on the dancing.

After a long time, Bill pulled back and locked eyes with Steph. It was then that he remembered something that had happened here so long ago; it was the start of everything between them, and he could possibly call it the best day of his life. He wanted to recreate the special moment, and he found it humorous that she seemed to not know what he was thinking. So, because of that, he decided to remind her.

His smile slowly faded, but only because it felt right to him, and he made them stop swaying. He then lifted his right hand and brushed his fingers against Steph's left cheekbone. Her face turned red again under his touch, and his smile returned. He then moved to where his fingers tenderly raked through her hair and she closed her eyes for a second.

After several agonizing seconds of stillness, and after Steph opened her eyes again, Bill finally made his move. Ignoring the erratic thumping of his heartbeat, he leaned in and

_pressed his lips against hers._

_Steph's heart stopped beating for several seconds at the sudden contact. She was frozen to the spot as she frantically thought of what she could do. She didn't know how to respond to this, too shocked that Bill had kissed her._

_After several long seconds, he pulled away and she was finally able to breathe again. "Bill…" she whispered._

"_N-No, Steph… l-l-listen to me, p-please…" he said, cutting her off as he took her hands in his. She nodded, looking down as she listened to whatever he had to say._

"_W-We've been best friends f-f-f-for a very long time… I-I also noticed something weird between u-us. Steph, d-do you remember the day we all met B-B-Ben and helped him in the-the alleyway?" he asked._

_Steph looked at him and nodded, her eyes now squinted in confusion. Bill looked back down at their connected hands._

"_W-Well, when we got the supplies out of-of the pharmacy, I was standing i-in the entrance to the alleyway, and I-I-I saw you and Beverly walking towards me…"_

_Steph's heart skipped a beat, knowing what he was going to say next. Her lips twitched as she began to smile._

"_Th-That was the moment I knew I l-l-l-liked you… in _that _way… Steph, it hit me like an oncoming train, and I couldn't ignore it," he said. "But as time went on, I grew very protective of you and I knew that after the battle with It, you were the one. You were _always _the one."_

_Steph's smile grew into a grin, her cheeks flushed crimson as she stared into his eyes. Bill wasn't stuttering once now, and she knew it was very serious._

"_Listen to me…" he continued. "You are the strongest person I know, th-the bravest, and the most caring. Y-You have a motherly vibe to you, and I-I _love _that. I can't count how many times you've protected our friends and I…"_

_Although Steph was embarrassed, she couldn't help but agree with Bill. She had put her life on the line for her friends so many times during the past summer alone. It floored her, to be honest. But Bill's next words made her heart leap into her throat._

"_B-But also…_

you're the most beautiful and amazing woman in the world. And I would do anything in the world for you…"

Steph's heart was going a billion miles an hour in her chest as she exhaled a nervous breath she had held in for a long time. To remember those words that came from Bill a long time ago and to hear the ones he was saying to her now made her beyond happy. She was so happy that not even words could describe it. She wanted to look down, to shy away from his loving gaze.

But she didn't. She kept her eyes locked onto his.

"And I don't know what I would do without you in my life," Bill continued. "If I lost you a few days ago… I think I would die… I think I would —"

Steph suddenly cut Bill off when she planted her lips on his again. She didn't need him to speak anymore, already knowing the words he wanted to say. She slipped her arms around his neck and he put his hands on her back again to pull her closer to him.

Eventually, Steph deepened the kiss and their tongues were dancing as they held each other. Bill moved his left hand to her hair and he threaded his fingers through it again. The woman shivered in his arms at what he was doing, and she suddenly felt a little nervous again. She didn't know why, but it was kind of a good feeling to her. It might have been because she was reliving that amazing memory as well as kissing her husband again.

But, after a while, the two pulled away, desperately needing air. They were breathing heavily and it made them chuckle as they rested their foreheads against each other. They refused to let each other go, wanting to stay in that embrace forever.

"I love you," whispered Bill, his breathing finally calming down. "God, I love you…"

Steph smiled as she tightened her hold on her husband. "I love you, too…" she replied.

* * *

**A/N: That was nice, wasn't it? I'm gonna miss writing this story, even though some of the process was absolute TORTURE! I think this may be the work I'm most proud of doing, which is awesome!**

**SO, thoughts on this chapter? Was it good? Was Richie's scene rushed or not? I need to know!**

**Was the ending good? I had it planned from the very beginning! The graveyard scene came into my mind when I was listening to the soundtrack for 'Titanic.' DO NOT JUDGE ME!**

**NOW, about the Q&A! I want it related to just THESE stories and nothing else! I have examples for questions: How did I create the character of Steph? Where did I get ideas for certain scenes? etc. If you want to ask questions just about Steph in general, or her relationship with Bill, go right ahead! I don't mind! Answers will be uploaded after epilogue, so stay tuned and ask questions!**

**Now, with that out of the way, I'm gonna go! I have to write the ending! *crosses fingers* I hope you guys like it when I upload it. The scene where Steph reads Stan's letter WILL be in it, don't worry! I couldn't find a way to fit it into this chapter lmao And there will be a surprise for the ending... wait, you might know what happens lol OH NO!**

**Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, as well as the one to follow in a few days! Have a great day, and until next time!**

**\- Hermione Romanoff**


	14. We're Losers and We Always Will Be

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC!**

**Just a forewarning: There is some suggestive content in the first half of this chapter, but I don't go too far, so don't worry!**

**A/N: We... have reached... the end... Oh boy... This is it. This is the ending of Losers Stick Together. I'm not gonna lie, I teared up when I finished writing this epilogue, so I won't be surprised if you guys end up crying at the end. We have to say goodbye to Steph, Bill and the other Losers. *sobs until the end of time* But DON'T WORRY! One-shots are still going on if you want to check them out! I will continued them sometime in the future.**

_**SuperSentai199: Thank you! I hate that part, too. I just wish I could've killed Henry Bowers myself lol And I'm glad you liked both of the scenes you mentioned!**_

_**MissBeckyJolene: Thank you, and happy late birthday! And yes, bring out the tissues!**_

_**MusicLover14; Yes, I love the battle from the last Twilight as well. In fact, that film is the only one I consider to be decent lol I'm glad the last chapter was your favorite! And the SpongeBob theme... HAHAHAHA! That's a whole freaking MOOD! I will answer your questions in the Q&A following this epilogue. And I am TOTALLY not hinting at children... TOTALLY... #sarcasm Thanks for the kudos! Ask more questions about Steph if you have any! P.S. I will answer the other questions you ask lol**_

_**robinmuffins: I know, THE FEELS! lol XD I'm glad you thought everything was great! And if you're sad about the fact that we've reached the end, prepare yourself with some tissues!**_

_** .2019: Thank you! I'm gonna miss it, too. But you can always reread both stories!**_

_**Avs Rulezzzzz: Thank you so much for the kind words! Hope you enjoy the epilogue!**_

_**Connie Hooper: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! And also, haha, glad you caught the easter egg! There's another one here, too! ;) Also, your birthday was an accidental reference lol I put that in there to honor a relative of mine who passed away nearly 6 years ago. Hope you enjoy the epilogue!**_

_**Special thanks to EVERYONE! Just... EVERYONE! I wasn't expecting the amount of love this story got and I'm deeply moved. So, just to let y'all know, I absolutely love ALL of you guys from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for the favorites, follows, feedback, and just the support I got over the past two months! This means so much to me!**_

**Now, without further ado... here is the epilogue of Losers Stick Together!**

* * *

**_Chapter Fourteen (Epilogue)_**

_June 14th, 2016_

_Two Weeks Later_

_New York City_

Steph was currently in Bill's office, sitting on the sofa next to the large window that led to their garden outside. Her husband was currently typing on his laptop, his reading glasses on his face as he wrote and wrote. The flowers that were in their yard kept the blonde woman distracted as she waited for Bill to get finished with what he was doing; she wanted to read the first chapter of his new book so badly, and he was going to let her. She was fidgeting on the sofa as excitement flowed through her, although she tried to hide it.

Bill noticed how impatient she was getting and chuckled a little. "I'm almost done, so hold on a little longer, okay?" he assured her and she nodded, visibly calming down. She just stared outside at the flowers, spotting the begonias, camellias, carnations, and lilies that were planted into the ground. She admired their beauty as they were blown by the wind like colorful flames or even like a rainbow, and it was gorgeous.

It had been exactly two weeks since Steph and Bill had left Derry for good and, even though she still had nightmares every now and then, she was moving on from the past. Well, she wasn't moving on entirely; she still had her other friends and she wasn't forgetting anything like she had last time. Maybe that was a sign that It was truly dead, and she felt that in her soul and it was a good feeling. She felt relieved that she could hold on to the good memories as long as she wanted to, and she wanted that amount of time to be forever.

But the problem for her recently was the nightmares. They just wouldn't quit, and she hated it. The only good thing about this was that every time she woke up, Bill was by her side and he would comfort her. But each night, she would fall asleep and see the same scene in her head: Eddie getting impaled by that same wicked claw that It had formed during their fight with the monster. Either that, or she would see all of her friends and Bill die… all of them would end when she woke up, screaming hysterically. But she would then realize that her husband was actually alive and it was just a dream, then she would relax.

At least it was now getting easier for Steph, knowing that Bill had stuck by her all this time, and he always would be there. But that didn't mean that the nightmares stopped, because they wouldn't quit that easily; it would take some time, but the woman was willing to fight through that internal battle if it meant that she moved on.

"I'm done," Bill spoke up, snapping Steph out of her thoughts. She turned to him with a big grin on her face and clapped her hands together happily. She then got up and sauntered over to him, resting her chin on his shoulder from behind him as he took his glasses off. "I just hope you like it," her husband added, giving her a nervous glance and she playfully punched his arm.

"Hey, I like _anything_ you write, okay?" she consoled him, giving him a kiss on the cheek and he smiled at her, simply nodding his head.

And Steph started reading what Bill had written. Rather, she poured herself into the chapter, thinking about everything that was going on in her head with vivid detail. Sometimes, she read so much at a time that the words were becoming nonsense, a sign that the chapter had really interested her. It actually put her in a temporary trance as she scrolled through the pages, a dumb smile planted on her face the entire time.

The last paragraph in particular stuck out to her. It read:

"_**These were his **_**friends**_**, and his mother was wrong; they weren't bad friends. **_**Maybe**_**, he thought, **_**there aren't any such things as good friends or bad friends - maybe there are just friends, people who stand by you when you're hurt and who help you not feel so lonely. Maybe they're always worth being scared for, and hoping for, and living for. Maybe worth dying for too, if that's what it has to be. No good friends. No bad friends. Only people you want, need to be with; people who build their houses in your heart.**"

Although she secretly knew who Bill was really meaning by his character, she chose to not say anything. Instead, she just gave him a simple hug as she beamed a smile that they both wished would last an eternity. "This may be the best thing you've written,' she complimented him. He turned to her with a look of pure surprise on his face, and it made her giggle a little in amusement.

"Are you serious?" he asked her, sounding slightly overwhelmed but happy at the same time. Steph just nodded, that smile never leaving her face as she ran her fingers through his hair, something she tended to do pretty often. She couldn't deny the fluttering of her heartbeat when Bill closed his eyes at her touch, and she just barely stifled a laugh.

"Is there another way of saying 'Thank you?'" Bill wondered as he opened his eyes again. "Because I can't think of one…"

This time, Steph burst out laughing as she shrugged. "You don't have to thank me if you can't think of a way to. However, I'll do this." She then leaned forward and pecked his lips, and they both chuckled when their noses bumped against each other. They just sat there for a long moment, smiling at one another and ignoring everything else around them. Bill then gently grabbed her chin and pulled her closer so he could kiss her again; both of their hearts hammered against their rib cages as their lips just barely touched.

Then Bill's cell phone rang.

They both groaned a little out of irritation as they pulled apart. Steph rolled her eyes a little before she looked down to see who was calling. Her annoyance faded away quickly when she saw Mike's name on the contact. It made her laugh out of utter embarrassment as Bill picked up his cell phone. "I'll just leave you two to talk," she whispered to him and he nodded. She heard him greet their best friend as she shut the door behind her.

Steph walked down the hallway and into the small but very nice kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and got out a can of Mountain Dew, clicking it open as she shut the fridge door. She then pulled out her own cell phone and checked her notifications, surprised that she didn't have that many to begin with. She liked a few Facebook and Instagram posts before taking that off of her history. She then scrolled through her personal contacts until she landed on the one that read: _Beverly Marsh_. She smiled a little as she tapped the name and she put the phone to her ear.

There were a few rings on the other end before she heard a small _click_. _"Hello?"_ Beverly's voice rang through her ears, and her small smile grew into a grin.

"Hey, Bev!" she greeted happily. "How are you?"

She could hear Beverly's musical chuckle on the other end and it made her happy knowing that her best friend was happy. _"I'm doing great, Steph,"_ the redhead replied. _"How about you?"_

"Eh, I could be doing a little better, but I guess everything's going okay," Steph answered, leaning against the kitchen island as she ran a hand through her blonde hair before speaking again. "I'm just sitting at home and Bill's on the phone with Mike. What are you doing right now?"

_"Well, Ben and I are taking a small trip on his yacht out here in San Diego,"_ Beverly explained, a clear smile in her voice. _"And we're probably gonna take another trip afterwards, so we're doing nothing but relaxing."_

Steph smirked. "Hmm, sounds like fun. I'm very happy for you two. I'm jealous, though. Ben has a _yacht_?! Seriously?! Now _that_ is awesome!"

Beverly laughed on the other end of the line and it also made Steph laugh. They did that for several seconds as they just let it out. After they calmed down, the blonde took another sip of her soda as her best friend spoke up again.

_"Hey, Steph,"_ Beverly said, _"I've got a question. Did you get anything in the mail today?"_

Steph squinted her eyes in confusion, slowly lowering the soda can from her lips and setting it back down on the kitchen island. "Yeah, but I haven't looked at it yet… why do you ask?"

There was a long moment of silence between the two, during which Steph's heart started thumping against her chest in worry. She truly had no idea what Beverly was talking about, but she was patiently awaiting an explanation. She was scared that she had gotten something bad in the mail, but there was an influence in her mind that told her otherwise. Either way, she was still concerned.

_"It's just… I got a letter… from Stan…"_ Beverly answered her. _"And I called Mike and… it turns out that we _all_ got one."_

For a split second, time stopped completely for Steph. Her heart froze as her breath hitched in shock. Her mind stuttered for a moment and her lips were parted in stunned surprise, and her face turned slightly pale. What did Beverly mean Stan had sent her and Bill letters? He was… She couldn't bear to think of the word in her head.

"_What?_" Steph breathed out in pure shock. She had to sit on one of the stools next to the kitchen island or else she would collapse to the floor. "But Bev… Stan's…"

_"I know,"_ Beverly cut her off. _"His wife sent them to us. I was just wondering if you had read yours yet…"_

These words made Steph spin around on her stool and grab the mail she had gotten that morning. She moved her new magazine out of the way and then flipped through the envelopes, bills, and letters from fans. And she finally found it. Rather, she found _them_. She could distinctly make out Patricia Uris's name on each envelope and it made her heart drop to the pit of her stomach. She put a hand on her forehead to wipe the sweat away.

"Bev… I got _two_ letters," Steph said quietly, her breathing coming in and out in short gasps, but she tried not to show it. "What did _your_ letter say?"

_"You got two letters?"_ Beverly asked, ignoring Steph's question. _"Well… I'm sure one of them says the same thing as all the others we got. Just read them…. That's all I can tell you. Just read the letters."_

Steph took a deep breath, forcing her heartbeat to calm down as she placed a hand over her chest. "Okay," she sighed nervously. "I'm gonna go then… And Bev… Don't forget that I love you. Have fun on your trip and say hi to Ben for me."

_"Okay, I will,"_ the redhead replied. _"I love you, too, Steph. Bye."_

"Bye," Steph whispered before hanging up the phone.

She then immediately grabbed the top letter and tore it open as gently as possible. She saw a piece of paper folded up with the words, _"Please read this first,"_ written on it. This actually made her heart beat faster and faster as she unfolded the paper with trembling hands. The letter she saw actually had several crease lines when she looked at it, all of them slightly fluffy from how much it had aged over what the woman had assumed to be the past few weeks. But she only focused on the words as she read them.

_**Dear Losers,**_

_**I know what this must seem like, but this isn't a suicide note. You're probably wondering why I did what I did. It's because I knew I was too scared to go back. And if we weren't together… if all of us **_**alive**_** weren't united… I knew we'd all die. So, I made the only logical move: I took myself off the board.**_

Steph felt a single tear trace down her right cheek and she put the letter down for a small moment to wipe it away. But doing that only made more appear as they cascaded down her face. She gave up and continued reading the letter, sniffing as she did so.

_**Did it work? Well, if you're reading this, you know the answer.**_

_**I lived my whole life afraid… afraid of what would come next, afraid of what I might leave behind. Don't. Be who you want to be. Be proud. And if you find someone worth holding on to, never **_**ever**_** let them go. Follow your own path… wherever that takes you. Think of this letter as a promise… a promise I'm asking you to make to me. To each other. An oath. See, the thing about being a Loser is you don't have anything to lose. So, be true. Be brave. Stand. Believe. And don't ever forget… we're Losers, and we always will be.**_

_**\- Stanley**_

The woman couldn't help but smile as she finished reading the words and she softly dropped it onto the kitchen table, her body shaking slightly as she did so. She stared into space for a long moment as she heard these words echo in her mind:

_And if you find someone worth holding on to, never _ever_ let them go._

Steph sniffed again as she watched her quivering hands for a second, knowing she had to open the second letter sooner or later. So she did. She reached out for the other envelope and took it into her hands more gently than the other one. She ripped it open and pulled out another slip of paper, her fingers shaking more than ever as she unfolded this one. She stared at the marble kitchen island in front of her for a second before looking back at the paper. She barely even read the first few words and she started crying so much more, her entire face now covered with tears.

_**Steph,**_

_**If you're reading this, then you already know that I'm long gone. And if you are reading this, that means you and the others got rid of It. You already read the first letter, and I hope you keep that promise. But **_**this**_** letter is sort of an apology to you and only you.**_

_**I'm so sorry it had to be this way, and that I had to take myself off the board. But I did that so you and the others would have a better advantage. If I didn't do what I did, we would've most likely died and I know how bad that would be. I'm apologizing to you because I can remember how close we were as friends so long ago, and I wish I didn't have to break your heart with this information. I guess I kind of failed, didn't I? But that's okay, because you're already strong enough to move on.**_

_**I also want to thank you for how much you stuck by me and the others during our teenage years. If it weren't for you, I would have lost my sanity that summer. You are very strong, brave, and confident and I don't want you to ever forget that. Now, this next bit might be a little weird to you, so just keep in mind that I never had that type of feelings for you, okay?**_

_**Steph, you were and still are like a sister to me, but I can't even deny how beautiful you were back then and maybe even now. Bill was so lucky to have you as a girlfriend back then. In fact, I actually looked him up before writing this and I saw that you were married to him. So, I'll say that he **_**is**_** very lucky to have you as a wife. A strong woman like you **_**should**_** deserve happiness and I hope that's what you and Bill live in now.**_

_**So, because of how strong and protective you were, thank you so much, Steph. Thank you for sticking by me when I needed it the most, for helping the others, and for just being you. Like I said in the other letter, "**_**If you find someone worth holding on to, never _ever_ let them go.**_**" Bill is that someone, so I hope you never let him go, and I hope he never lets you go. And again, I'm very sorry it had to be this way, but just continue being proud, true, and brave.**_

_**\- Stanley**_

By the time Steph was finished reading this particular letter, she was full on sobbing, and she was barely able to breathe as she dropped the letter onto the kitchen island. She buried her face in her hands as her body trembled, the tears dripping onto her fingers. Her gasps were ragged as the strength left her being. Her face turned red as she cried and cried and cried, not able to speak at all. She just let it all out until no more tears came, but she still felt physically drained for those few minutes.

The fact that Stan had told her to be brave broke her heart but it also meant so much to her at the same time. The best part of this was that it gave her some closure and the worst part of it was that it made her miss Stan so much more and it made her a little upset. She prayed that her best friend was in peace wherever he was, even if she wasn't much of a religious person.

But the letter had also made her think of something else. Or rather, _someone_ else…

Bill.

_(never ever let them go)_

She had never promised him what Stan had pointed out in the letters, and she wanted to mentally slap herself for not doing it much sooner. Remarkably, although she felt guilty, this fact made her stop crying and she tried to wipe as much tears away as she could. She sniffed as she took a deep breath, looking at the letters again.

What Stan had said made a lot of sense to her. They _weren't_ suicide notes; rather, they were notes of advice and encouragement, and she felt a brand new sense of courage build up inside of her when she read them over again. Every important word stuck out to her as a bit of hope for her, and it meant everything to her. She thought to herself that maybe these letters could be the key to helping her move on from her traumatic past. She just needed to wait for the right time, and that time was now.

"Bill?!" she called out, her voice cracking as she leant back against the kitchen island while she pressed a hand to her forehead.

She waited for several long seconds before she finally heard a door open at the end of the hallway. She closed her eyes when the sounds of footsteps rang through her ears, her right hand still clutching the first letter as lightly as she could.

"What is it, Steph?" came Bill's voice from multiple feet away and that was when the woman forced her eyes to open themselves again. She saw him standing in the entrance of the kitchen with an expression of slight misery etched into his usually calm face. He wasn't even looking at her, but rather at the piece of paper she clung to as if it were a lifeline. "Oh…" he muttered.

Steph put the paper back where it was and turned to face her husband completely. "You got one, too, didn't you?" she asked in the quietest voice she had ever used. She did something she never would have normally done; she kept her eyes locked with Bill's in her moment of uncertainty. And the emotional walls around her heart broke when he nodded after a long while. That was when she dropped her gaze as he walked over to her, but she didn't cry anymore.

Bill made the smart move of not holding Steph immediately, but he let his fingers trace over her hands gently as he looked down at her. "Hey, listen to me. Look at me…" he told her, and she did, allowing him to continue. "I read what he wrote in that letter and I realized that I never promised you this one thing... " And he finally took her hands in his, squeezing them lovingly. "Stephanie Rose Denbrough… I promise that I will never let you go. Not today, not tomorrow, or _ever_. You're stuck with me, and you can't do anything about it. I will always be here with you, especially when you need me… I promise."

Steph couldn't help but chuckle a little as she heard these words, a huge gush of love, affection, and determination in her heart which replaced her slight depression and sorrow entirely. She gave him a small smile that told her husband everything she needed to say, but she still spoke regardless. "And I won't let you go either… I will be by your side until I die. You mean so much to me and I couldn't bear letting you go…"

That was all she could say as her voice cracked again, and she looked down, unable to meet his gaze for a few seconds. But, she fought that hesitation and glanced back up, staring into his blue-green eyes as he wiped her spare tears away. And that was when she noticed something: he had been crying as well, and that broke her heart. So, she reached her hands up and held his face, brushing his own tears off of his cheeks with her thumbs. "It'll be okay," she murmured soothingly.

And that was when Bill lost his control, his emotions reaching the breaking point. He suddenly leaned forward and crashed his lips against Steph's, taking her by surprise for a second, as she didn't know what to do. But, getting over her shock fairly quickly, she reacted by moving her gentle hands from his face to the back of his neck as he pulled her to him, making chills travel up and down her spine.

After a while, Bill deepened the kiss, and Steph moaned against his lips. But she pulled away when he slipped an arm around her back and the other under her legs and she was lifted off of the ground. She squealed a little in startlement at the sudden movement and she clung to Bill tightly as he carried her up the stairs. He then kissed her again, silencing her to her great relief. It was at that moment that she longed to be closer to him, and it only made her arms around his neck tighten slightly.

Neither of them knew how he did it, but Bill managed to open their bedroom door, although he stumbled a little. Steph pulled away so she could laugh at his clumsiness, and he couldn't help but do the same thing. He then set her on the ground, and she sat on the bed. After a few seconds, he put his hands on her face, and she covered them with her own, smiling up at him in a shy manner. But she then looked down, although she wasn't able to for very long, as Bill tilted her chin back up, a look of love and adoration in his eyes. And Steph was the first one to speak.

"I love you," she whispered in the most beautiful voice Bill had ever heard, and his knees went a little weak. But he ignored this as he ran both of his hands through her hair, his fingers pressing down on her scalp very tenderly, and it made her sigh and close her eyes.

"And I love you, too," he whispered in reply.

He then leaned in and pressed his lips against her neck, which would have made Steph collapse if she were standing. But, luckily, she didn't. Instead, a new wave of happiness flowed through her as she moved her hands to unbutton his shirt.

* * *

_**Six Years Later**_

_October 14th, 2022_

The weather was surprisingly warm for a day in the autumn season. The sun wasn't covered by any clouds as it's rays beamed down on the two-story house outside of New York City in its final hours of daytime. The leaves fell from the branches of trees as they died slowly. Steph was able to see all of this as she stood in the kitchen, staring out the window above the sink. A plate was grasped in her hands as she scrubbed it with a dishrag, but her gaze was transfixed on the sunset.

It was a beautiful and quiet evening, and it was better for the fact that her and Bill's house was outside the bustling city. The colors of orange, purple, and crimson flooded her vision in a gorgeous manner, although she looked away for a moment to rinse the plate in her hands. She carefully set it on the dish rack to dry and drained the sink of water, drying her hands off as she looked out the window again.

The main reason she was doing this was so she could pass the time before the others showed up. The six Losers had planned a reunion, possibly the millionth one; they got together all the time to catch up. Steph had wanted to cook food, but Bill had opted to just simply order pizza for all of them. She thought it was the better option so she wouldn't have to strain herself, as tonight was not the night to be under stress. She just wanted to be happy and under content when she saw her best friends again.

"Mommy?! Mommy?!" came a voice from the living room, and she couldn't help but giggle. After all, she needed something to break her thoughts and the sudden voice did just that.

"Sweetie, you're gonna have to come in here if you need something!" she called out as she put the towel back on the handle of the stove, and she rubbed her hands together afterwards. When she heard the sound of thudding footsteps against the floor, she stifled a laugh as she turned around, seeing a small boy who looked to be almost six with dirty blonde hair and plain blue eyes. Based on his features, Steph had confirmed the young boy would be a handsome young man when he got older and that didn't stop another smile from forming on her face.

"Now, what do you need, sweetie?" she asked the boy standing in front of her. He had a look of impatience on his face as he bounced on the balls of his feet.

"When are the others coming over?" replied Eddie as he fidgeted with his hands. "I wanna see Uncle Richie!"

Edward Jonathan Denbrough was Steph and Bill's oldest son, and although he was quite mature for his young age, he was still a little kid. He often complained and tried to get his parents' attention, and they _did_ give it to him; but they had to teach him that they couldn't give him everything all the time, and he learned that lesson pretty quickly.

Steph had found out that she was pregnant with her son about a month after she and Bill had gone back to New York. Both of them were overjoyed, _especially_ Bill, and they went through the nine months just fine before the boy was born. The woman decided to name him after her best friend and her father, and her husband told her that the name was perfect. And, now, Eddie was still as special as he was when he was born.

And the couple would have it no differently.

Steph chuckled as she walked over to her son, ruffling his hair. "Now," she told him, "you know it takes them a little bit to get here. And your godfather isn't the only one out of them who matters right? There's also Ben, Beverly, and Mike, remember?"

Eddie sighed a little, pushing his mother's hand away. "I know, Mommy," he huffed. Steph then hugged him, and he didn't fight her this time. "You also know you aren't supposed to leave Georgie in the living room by himself, what have I told you about that, Eddie?"

The boy sighed, giving her an exasperated look. "Why can't Dad watch him?" he whined.

Steph rolled her eyes a little. _Kids always complain,_ she thought to herself. "Honey, Dad's working in his office and he doesn't want to be bothered while he works, okay?" And she smiled again when her son nodded.

"Actually, I'm done working now," Bill said suddenly, and Steph looked up to see him standing in the kitchen doorway with an amused grin on his face. And the woman couldn't help but laugh as he added, "But go back to watching over Georgie, okay?"

Eddie groaned but he listened to his father anyway, and Steph giggled again at his behavior as she turned away to dry her hands more on the towel. "Bev said she and Ben will be here in half an hour. I don't know about the others, though," she told Bill. But she strangely didn't hear a reply, and she grew a little confused, although she didn't turn around.

She then jumped when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her, and she nearly shrieked in surprise, but that didn't stop her from smiling. "I freaking hate you," she muttered through her teeth, holding back even more laughter. Bill, however, couldn't hold back his chuckles as he rested his head on hers from behind.

"I love you, too," he cheekily replied, tenderly moving his hands to where they were splayed over her stomach. He brushed his fingers over her baby bump, and it made Steph grin even more as she leaned back into his embrace. They stayed in that position for a while, nothing but happiness in their emotions at the moment, and they wanted to treasure that feeling more than anything.

"It's beautiful outside tonight," Steph commented after a few minutes. "Perfect weather for the others coming over." She felt Bill nod behind her and she knew that he was agreeing with her statement as she looked out the window. A few more moments of silence passed between them as she was once more transfixed by the dazzling colors of the sunset.

"It _is_ really nice tonight," Bill admitted, pulling her closer to him, although he made sure to be gentle. Steph then shivered when she felt his lips touch her neck briefly, and she giggled. "But not as beautiful as you," he added in a whisper, and the woman in his arms closed her eyes in response. She then turned around and gave him a peck on the lips, all the while blushing as she did so.

Suddenly, the doorbell chimed through the house and the two pulled apart, both of them smirking. "Looks like the party has begun to arrive," Steph quipped and they both laughed as she went towards the direction of the sound. She stopped in the living room to take Georgie into her arms, and the little boy giggled, which made her smile.

George Stanley Denbrough was three years old, and he was the most precious and angelic child Steph had ever seen. She had obviously named him after Bill's fallen brother and her other best friend that had taken his own life. She had fulfilled her promise that she had made to Bill a very long time ago.

_There was a long moment of silence between them as Steph continued to stare into the distance. But she broke it after a few seconds. "By the way, if we ever have a son, I'm naming him Georgie," she said._

_Bill's eyes widened in surprise. "Steph…"_

_Steph shook her head at him and gave him a serious look. "I'm not joking. I would do that. Just saying," she continued. Bill stared at her in shock for a very long moment before finally nodding. "Okay," he said._

Much to Steph's surprise, her youngest son very eerily looked like the little boy she had known so long ago before he had died. Georgie had the same brown hair and blue eyes, although they were darker and more vivid, just like hers were. Despite that, he was the perfect blend of both Bill and the little boy, and she didn't hesitate to call her son beautiful when he was born.

So, in conclusion, Eddie was the outgoing little kid and Georgie was (surprisingly) the quieter of the two.

Steph walked up to the front door, Georgie in her arms, and opened the door. A big grin was planted on her face when she saw a man around her age with messy black hair and coke bottle glasses that framed his face. He returned the smile as he stepped through the doorway and embraced her.

"Hey, Trashmouth!" she greeted. "Haven't seen you in a while!" she chuckled when he pulled away and he laughed lightheartedly as well.

"Same with you," he replied before turning to the toddler in the woman's arms. He gave her a questioning look, and she immediately knew what he wanted and nodded. Richie grinned as he took the little boy out of Steph's arms as carefully as possible. "There's little Georgie!" he exclaimed happily. "And where's little Eddie?" The last question made Steph shake her head at the fact that her other son wasn't even at the door.

"Eddie, your godfather's here!" Steph shouted down the entry hall, immediately hearing running coming her way. "Come say hi!" Then she turned to the man in front of her. "Come on in, Richie."

The man obeyed as he followed her inside; this was just as the six year old boy came barreling through the hallway, and Richie quickly handed Georgie back to Steph as the woman's oldest son jumped into his arms. "Hi, Richie!" he yelled happily, wrapping his small arms around the man's legs. Richie chuckled as he lifted Eddie off of the ground, ruffling his hair as he did so.

"_There's_ the little rascal!" he shouted playfully and Steph couldn't help but giggle at the adorable sight in front of her. It turns out that she had made the right choice in making Richie her oldest son's godfather; she could still picture his face when she had told him this, he was so honored and so deeply touched by this act.

Richie hadn't truly gotten over Eddie's death, as it was still way too traumatizing for him to handle. Because of this, he still wasn't in a relationship, choosing to stay single until he could move on from his own past. But it looked like that was not going to happen anytime soon. Steph and the others helped him, however, always looking out for him when he needed it the most; this was especially since he had come out and told everyone else his secret. The woman herself had vowed to the man that she would always be there if he needed help or if he just needed someone, and he had accepted that.

But, regardless of the sorrow that still remained in his heart, Richie Tozier had gone back to being the good old wise-cracking comedian he always was. He always hid his true emotions from people that weren't his friends, but he rarely showed them around _them_ despite this, although all of them noticed. But none of them said anything, because it was not their place to.

While Richie set Eddie down and the boy went to show him his toys, Steph went back into the kitchen, still holding Georgie and saw Bill standing there with a goofy grin on his face as she said, "Richie 'Trashmouth' Tozier has shown up to do his voices again. God help us…"

The couple laughed hysterically at her joke and it actually took them a while to calm down. Afterwards, Steph kissed Bill again and the two of them walked into the living room where the others were.

After about half an hour, the pizza arrived and Steph paid for it, much to Bill's slight annoyance. Then Beverly and Ben had arrived almost immediately after, and the woman was enveloped with hugs from the other couple. When Beverly saw Steph's baby bump, she almost cried and the blonde chuckled at the redhead's behavior. But her best friend managed to hold the tears back.

"Did you find out the due date?" Beverly asked, genuinely curious and Steph gave her a wide smile.

"Yep," she replied, popping the 'p.' "February 7th, and we can't wait." She said this in the happiest voice she had ever used, which made the other two smile. Ben then went off on his own to see the others; Steph used this as an opportunity to pull Beverly aside so she could tell her something else.

Once Ben was out of earshot, Steph leaned over to tell Beverly what she needed to say as quietly as she could. "It's a girl," she whispered. When she pulled back, the two women shared a faint squeal of satisfaction and they hugged, although the redhead made sure to be careful and not embrace her as tightly as she really wanted to.

After Mike showed up, everybody in the house immediately went for the pizza, although Steph only got one slice for herself. While Eddie and Georgie were running around the house and playing, the other six were sitting in the dining room and discussing things that had happened in their lives recently. It felt good to catch up on everyday life, and it was nice for Steph to just relax for a few hours.

The biggest surge of happiness flowed through her when Ben and Beverly announced that they were now engaged, and she barely held back her cheerful scream. Her best friend's ring was so beautiful, and she congratulated them both, to which they thanked her. Mike then told them all that he was currently seeing someone, but he was going to wait to introduce her until they got to know one another better. Steph wholeheartedly supported his decision, and so did the others, although Richie pretended to complain, which made them all laugh.

After the six of them finished their plates of pizza, Steph took them and placed them in the sink to wash tomorrow. Mike then walked over to her side, patting her back in a friendly greeting.

"You sure have some wild kids," he commented in a humorous manner, and Steph stifled a laugh as she turned to face him. "They'll grow out of it eventually," she replied as the young boys started to get tired. She walked towards Georgie and picked him up again, making the toddler giggle the sweetest laugh she had ever heard.

"I want to put them to bed so badly tonight," she said. "But I'm predicting that Bill's not gonna let me and he'll do it himself. He's been doing _everything_ for me lately, and I wish he didn't have to… But he never listens…"

Mike put a hand on her shoulder as a form of comfort. "That's a sign of a good husband, Steph," he assured her. "He's just being good to you because you don't need to be stressed right now. I'm sure you'll go back to being your normal self after this pregnancy's over."

Steph's shoulders sagged in mock defeat as she gave a nod of her head. "You're right," she agreed. "Maybe I don't need so much… so much stress."

There was a pause in the middle of her sentence because she had to yawn; she was getting very sleepy, and she checked her watch. Well, of course she was tired, it was nearly _10:30_ at night! She yawned again, still holding Georgie close to her.

Just then, Bill came into the room and saw how tired she was; because of this, he took their youngest son from her and put his other hand on her back.

"Come on, honey… You're going to bed."

Steph didn't have the physical strength to argue and nodded blearily. "Okay," she said quietly. She then walked up to Mike and gave him a hug. "See you sometime in the near future, Mike," she bid him farewell.

"Goodnight, Steph," he replied as they broke away. "See you later."

Steph then hugged the others goodnight as they left and Bill guided her upstairs, little Eddie following behind them. She turned to go into the boys' bedroom but her husband shook his head playfully with a smile. "Oh no, you don't," he said as he steered her towards their own bedroom. "I'll put them to bed, okay?"

The blonde woman sighed in mock annoyance. "You do this _every_ night," she complained, giving him puppy eyes. He wasn't giving in, however, as he shook his head again. "And I'm gonna keep doing it until you get your strength back," he retorted. This made Steph give up, reluctantly allowing him to walk her into their room and she sat down on the bed. Bill kissed her on the forehead, and she gave him a smile.

"I'll be right back," he whispered before disappearing out of the room. Steph nodded to herself, looking to her left to see two pictures on her nightstand: one of her and Bill on their wedding day, and the other being one of her and her mother when she was a teenager. Her happy smile turned into a somber one. It had now been thirty-one years since Jamie's death, and although she had completely moved on, she couldn't help but feel some sorrow when she thought of her.

She always thought back to the dream she had when she and the others were battling It over six years ago. That always seemed to cheer her up if she was ever feeling upset, and that was good for her emotional state, which was mostly healed now. She had even started to move on from Eddie's and Stan's deaths, although it was very difficult at first. The nightmares had failed to go away for several months since those traumatic three days in Derry, and she had to start taking sleeping pills in order to keep them at bay for those hours of sleep. And now, even though she only had bad dreams once in a blue moon, some would still happen. At least she didn't wake up screaming anymore, which was a relief to her.

But the thing that resonated with Steph was that she was finally getting the true happy life she deserved. But she had to survive many dangerous occurrences to earn that bliss. And it was worth every second. And she also had Bill and her best friends to thank for that.

The six years that had followed since their promise was fulfilled was filled with peace and happiness, and Steph would often refer to those years as the best of her entire life.

After a while, she got a little impatient and pulled out her cell phone. She decided to FaceTime Bill, despite the fact that he was right down the hallway; she often did this, and they both found it funny.

A few rings later, Bill picked up, giving his wife a bemused look through the screen. "Why are you FaceTiming, honey? I'm literally _thirty_ feet away, I told you I'll be in there in a second."

Steph shrugged. "I thought I'd just do it for no reason," she replied smugly. "Are the boys asleep?" At Bill's nod, she smiled. "Come in here, I'm getting lonely and I need someone to cuddle with." She then saw her husband quietly get up off of Eddie's bed and turn off the light.

"Okay, I'll be there in, like, five seconds," Bill responded quickly.

"You better hurry or I'll hug the pillow and you won't have _anything_ to cuddle tonight."

"Hold up, I'm coming!"

Steph laughed as quietly as she could at the sound of Bill running - literally _running_ \- down the hallway. "I can hear you!" she exclaimed. They both laughed as her husband entered the room, a little out of breath. She hung up the phone and gave him a mock glare. "You can be an idiot sometimes, you know that?"

Bill nodded as he sat down beside her. "But you don't care," he replied, and her head bobbed up and down immediately. He put an arm around her shoulders and gently pulled her closer, and she laid her head on his shoulder. "You look exhausted… you need to rest, okay?"

The blonde didn't hesitate to confirm his suspicions. "Today's been a tiring day for me," she whispered. "But I'm still happy…"

"Me too," Bill replied, running his fingers over her forearm. He then bent down and planted a kiss on Steph's stomach, which made her giggle weakly. "I love you, Jamie," he murmured.

The two had decided that they were going to name their soon-to-be arriving daughter after Steph's mother. She herself had made the decision almost instantly after they had found out the gender of the baby, and Bill agreed immediately. They also chose the middle name 'Alexandra' because they found it beautiful.

Bill then sat back up and kissed Steph very softly and her heart skipped a beat for a second. "And I love you," he whispered against her soft lips, which made her give him another loving peck.

After Bill got up and turned off the lights and they both changed into their nightclothes, they laid down on the bed in the peaceful darkness that enveloped them. Bill held his wife close to him and she put her head on his chest; this was something they did every night before falling asleep, and it was everything to the both of them.

"If Georgie wakes up later, I'll take care of him," Bill assured Steph. "You just sleep, okay?"

This time, Steph didn't argue. "Okay," she replied.

Bill pressed his lips against her temple and pulled her closer. "Goodnight," he muttered. "I love you, my angel."

Steph smiled. "Goodnight… I love you, too."

And as the two fell asleep while holding each other, Steph did something she had been praying to do so long ago: she dreamt good dreams. And all the while, one thought was etched into her brain.

No matter what happened, no matter how the rest of her life went, she and her friends would _always_ be Losers. And, no matter what, Losers stick together.

**The End.**

* * *

**Crew:**

_**Directed by Andy Muschietti**_

_**Written by Hermione Romanoff**_

_**Produced by Barbara Muschietti, Dan Lin, and Roy Lee**_

_**Based off of the Screenplay by Gary Dauberman**_

_**Based off of the Novel "IT" by Stephen King**_

**_Music by Benjamin Wallfisch, John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, Daniel Davies, Matthew Margeson, Hans Zimmer, Danny Lux, Alan Howarth, Disasterpiece, J. Peter Robinson, Tyler Bates, Hildur Guðnadóttir, and Marco Beltrami_**

**_Songs Featured in the Soundtrack: _Red Right Hand (2011 Remastered Version) **_by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds**; **_**Something to Die For (Stripped Version) **_by The Sounds**; **_**Don't Fear The Reaper**_ by Blue Oyster Cult**; **_**O Children **_by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds**; **_**Red Right Hand (Scream 3 Version) **_by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds_

**Cast:**

_**Wyatt Oleff as young Stanley Uris**_

_**Chosen Jacobs as young Mike Hanlon**_

_**Jeremy Ray Taylor as young Ben Hanscom**_

_**Jack Dylan Grazer as young Eddie Kaspbrak**_

_**Finn Wolfhard as young Richie Tozier**_

_**Sophia Lillis as young Beverly Marsh**_

_**Kate Siegel as Jamie Palmer (Steph's mother)**_

_**Jaeden Martell as young Bill Denbrough**_

_**Kiernan Shipka as young Stephanie Palmer**_

_**Isaiah Mustafa as adult Mike Hanlon**_

_**Jay Ryan as adult Ben Hanscom**_

_**James Ransone as adult Eddie Kaspbrak**_

_**Jessica Chastain as adult Beverly Marsh Rogan**_

_**Bill Hader as adult Richie Tozier**_

_**James McAvoy as adult Bill Denbrough**_

_**and Emily Blunt as adult Stephanie Denbrough**_

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**A/N: ANOTHER IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE! PLEASE READ THIS!**

**Well... that's it... it's over... My heart has officially sunken like the Titanic... okay, bad joke.**

**But, this IS NOT the last we will see of Steph. (Hint: Read the one-shots I've written between her and Bill!) So you guys are lucky! But, STORY wise, this is it... this is what you guys get. It's done.**

**Now, more stuff about Q&A. I NEED QUESTIONS because I want to answer some! I am genuinely curious to know what your questions are, so ask away now! **

**Q&A will be out within the next few days. I need some time for you guys to ask your questions.**

**I will also make a list of references I made in this story, so I think you guys will like that! :)**

**Now... if you'll excuse me... I gotta go cry myself to sleep now. But, I will repeat the words I said in my author's note of the epilogue of the first story:**

**Part of the journey is the end.**

**So, with that in mind, I'm gonna go cry anyway. Can't wait to do the Q&A! Be sure to ask as many questions if you want! Have a great day, and until next time!**

**\- Hermione Romanoff**


	15. Q&A TIME!

**DISCLAIMER: Be sure to read the very bottom of this semi-chapter if you're not going to read the actual Q&A. I have a story announcement at the bottom!**

**A/N: It is time for the Q&A! YAY! I am a little surprised, though... Only two people actually left questions, which really surprised me. I believe it's because not that many of you actually read my author's note on the last chapter lmao **

**But, if you actually do have questions about these two stories that you didn't ask before, feel free to PM me and I will answer them. But, if you're a guest, you can't quite do that and I'm sorry.**

**But, before I answer y'all's questions, let me reply to your reviews on the epilogue!**

* * *

Replies to Recent Reviews:

_**SuperSentai199: Thank you so much! And I know, they're so adorable! I'm glad you enjoyed this story!**_

_**MissBeckyJolene: Thank you! And I'm sorry I made you cry lmao I'm glad this story helped you through a lot. I'm glad to have motivated you to learn lessons and enjoy the interactions of these characters! I will answer your questions below this section, so be looking for those!**_

_**MusicLover14: Don't worry, I love SpongeBob as well LMFAO! I'm glad you loved this ending AND this story! And, I saw your recent review on "A New Family." The girl on the left IS Emily, that is correct! If you read the cast, then you should know that Mackenzie Foy played... Renesmee from Twilight... DON'T HATE ME! But she was a recommended choice lol And the person on the left is NOT her father or Henry Bowers, actually. It is actually her as an adult. Just look up Danielle Harris from Hatchet 3, and if you find an image of her covered in blood and holding a shotgun, you'll recognize it! ;) I'll answer your questions down below!  
**_

_**AvsRulezzzzz: Thank you from the bottom of my heart! your thoughts mean so much to me! I'm glad you enjoyed this story!**_

_**Connie Hooper: I'm so glad you enjoyed this story! And I can't wait for the easter egg in your next chapter! And I'm so happy you loved the ending! Thank you for taking the time to read the story!**_

_** .2019: Thank you for enjoying this story!**_

_**robinmuffins: Thank you for taking the time to read this story, although you shoud've been doing your Chemistry homework. Seriously, SCHOOL COMES FIRST! haha no pressure! I can't wait for your next chapter!**_

* * *

Q&A Answers:

_**Questions from MusicLover14:**_

**Q: If IT is dead, than do they still forget?**

A: In the novel, they do pretty quickly. But in this story, they obviously don't. There is a line that Bill says in It: Chapter Two during the ending: "Mike, why do you think we're not forgetting... you know, like the last time?" SO there you go!

**I already answered your second and third questions with the epilogue, so on to the next one!**

**Q: What does Bev do about her abusive husband? Does she just run of with Ben and avoid the guy? Or does she get legally divorced?**

A: I'm not entirely sure about that, to be honest. It's never clarified in the book or any of the adaptations. CLEAR THINGS UP FOR US, LOL! But, I like to think she filed for divorce later on before marrying Ben. At least, that's what happens in my mind.

**Q: Is Bill finally able to write a good ending?**

A: I like to think he does with his next book! :)

**And your last question was answered by the epilogue as well! Thank you for your questions!**

_**Questions from MissBeckyJolene:**_

**Q: What truly made Bill fall for Steph in the first place?**

A: It first started as a crush, because he thought she was beautiful. But, in the ninth chapter, he realizes that he's in love with her. He fell for her because she was strong, brave, and a fighter. Steph had this fire about her that he couldn't avoid, and it made him fall head over heels for her.

**Q: What would you do if you yourself were inserted into the world of IT?**

A: Simple. Kick Pennywise's ass until It dies. *shrugs*

**Q: What do you think that all of the Losers would say to me, just to be honest?**

A: Another simple one. They don't even have to say anything. You would be welcome to join their club anytime lol

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**A/N: And that's it folks! Again, if you want to ask me questions related to these stories, feel free to PM me. And also, check out my profile page so you can see a new story announcement. I'm sure all of you, ESPECIALLY MusicLover14, will like it!**

**And now, for the last time (on this story), have a great day, and until next time!**

**\- Hermione Romanoff**


	16. QUESTION!

**A/N: Uh... hi, guys! Long time, no see, am I right?!**

**But I just have a quick question, this won't take too long!**

**Would you guys like to see a book on here where I post deleted scenes from my "IT" stories that I had in mind? I feel like it would be interesting for you guys!**

**That is all I needed to ask. I'm posting this announcement on this story specifically because most of the deleted scenes are from "Losers Stick Together!"**

**Just let me know if this would be a good idea!**

**\- Hermione Romanoff**


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